Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 1133: Little Relay City

Along the journey that followed, Elder Ji—who had personally slain over a dozen corpse refiners from Yin Corpse Valley—grew increasingly anxious. The more he thought about it, the more he regretted it, his heart full of remorse.

He hated himself for giving in to Mo Hua's "tyrannical authority" in a moment of cowardice and taking action against cultivators from the major demonic sect, Yin Corpse Valley.

Now, he had truly brought calamity upon himself.

But the deed was done—regret was useless.

All he could do now was drive the carriage faster, hoping to leave Half-Mountain City far behind before the corpse refiners came seeking vengeance. He prayed that he wouldn't run into more of those gloomy and ominous types.

Mo Hua, on the other hand, remained completely calm.

When the Blood Sacrifice Grand Array collapsed, he had killed more demonic cultivators than he could count.

If we're talking about slaying demonic cultivators, even if Elder Ji killed nonstop for a hundred years, he wouldn't amount to even a fraction of Mo Hua's "kill count."

Wiping out a dozen corpse refiners from Yin Corpse Valley now? That was as casual as drinking water.

Mo Hua didn't care at all.

Besides, those corpse refiners were killed by Elder Ji. The main karmic burden wouldn't fall on him.

The two continued south.

Out of fear of Yin Corpse Valley's revenge, Elder Ji didn't dare slow down for even a moment and kept the carriage moving at full speed.

After traveling several hundred more li, they entered a barren mountain region and ran into a large group of refugees.

These refugees were scattered cultivators fleeing from nearby ruined immortal cities.

Some, starving and desperate, even tried to rob the carriage.

Elder Ji really wanted to kill a few to scare the rest, but considering Mo Hua's presence, he held back. He gave them only minor punishment before letting them go.

As they went further into the forest, they were attacked by more cultivators.

These ones had vicious faces and wore prison garb—clearly escaped convicts and evil cultivators from the Dao Court, armed with bloodstained weapons, surrounding the carriage.

Mo Hua sat inside, his face calm and indifferent.

Elder Ji guessed from his silence that they could be killed.

He'd had enough of the disturbances anyway, and with rage pent up, he swung his saber without mercy, slaughtering most of them.

A few lucky ones escaped, and Elder Ji couldn't be bothered to chase. He just spat and continued driving the carriage onward.

Along the way, they encountered many similar incidents.

Refugees, mountain bandits, criminal cultivators, and all manner of shady figures mixed together like ants, fleeing across the land of Lizhou.

Mo Hua silently observed it all without saying a word.

He wanted to give these refugees a place to live.

But the scope of the turmoil was far too great, and with his current strength, he had no way of quelling the disaster. So he could only watch in silence.

In fact, Mo Hua even felt a faint pang of guilt.

It was in his hands that the Wild Heaven Dragon Banner—the signal fire of rebellion—was first ignited.

In other words, he was the catalyst behind all this.

But then again, he reminded himself he was overthinking it. The grand scheme of heaven and earth was already set. These acts of rebellion had long been planned by others.

All of this was destined in the web of fate.

Whether or not he raised the Dragon Banner, the outcome wouldn't have changed.

Mo Hua furrowed his brows and sighed lightly.

…

After several more twists and turns, the further south they traveled, the more chaotic it became.

Ruined immortal cities, scattered refugees, looting and murdering cultivators, mutilated remains of fallen cultivators…

Even Elder Ji, who was no stranger to wickedness, looked a little pale.

"Damn… The world really has changed…"

After braving the elements for over a month, the two finally arrived at a small city several thousand li away—Little Relay City.

Outside the city, Mo Hua looked up, quite surprised.

Compared to the chaos and warfare elsewhere, Little Relay City was far more peaceful—even bustling with life.

If not for what he had witnessed along the way—the ruin and devastation everywhere—Mo Hua might've thought this was just an illusion.

"This is really Little Relay City?"

Mo Hua turned to Elder Ji and asked.

Elder Ji looked confused too, as if he couldn't believe it himself. He muttered:

"According to our direction, this should be it… I've come here a few times in the past for business, pulling some strings…"

Mo Hua swept his divine sense over the city and detected several strong auras belonging to Golden Core cultivators. He frowned slightly.

"Little Relay City is a third-grade immortal city?"

Elder Ji replied, "It's a second-grade immortal city, but in a third-grade region."

Mo Hua looked at him.

Elder Ji explained, "This is a relay city, mainly used as a transit hub. But it's in a remote and impoverished place, so not many cultivators live here."

"Those passing through are usually poor merchants—mostly Qi Refining cultivators. Very few Foundation Establishment ones, let alone Golden Core experts."

"That's why, even though it's in a third-grade region, the city itself is considered second-grade."

"But now, despite all the chaos, it seems even busier than before…"

Elder Ji looked at the lively city ahead, frowning. Then he turned to Mo Hua:

"Young Master, what do you think…"

Mo Hua thought for a moment and said, "No matter. Let's enter the city first."

Elder Ji hesitated.

Mo Hua said, "If you have something to say, then speak."

Elder Ji grinned sheepishly.

"Young Master, I've driven the carriage, led the way, and even killed for you. Maybe no achievements, but definitely hard work."

"If we can't find the one in charge here later, please understand it's not my fault. I truly did my best. Could you, maybe… spare my life?"

Mo Hua's face remained impassive, unreadable.

Elder Ji's heart pounded.

"Enter the city," Mo Hua said calmly.

Elder Ji sighed in resignation and replied, "Yes, sir."

At the same time, he prayed silently in his heart:

"You damned bastard Steward Wang… I didn't mind you skimming off my spirit stones, but for the love of all that's holy, don't be dead. If you are, I might have to go join you. This 'little Yama' kills people without blinking, and not even blood is left behind. I don't even want to know how I'd die…"

Muttering inwardly, Elder Ji drove the carriage toward Little Relay City.

Inside the city, things were lively—but the city gates were firmly shut.

At the gate stood several Foundation Establishment body cultivators, guarding and blocking entry.

Naturally, Mo Hua's carriage was stopped too.

With turmoil in Lizhou, Little Relay City's defenses had grown strict. Ordinary cultivators were not permitted entry.

Here, Elder Ji's identity finally came in handy again.

He was an elder of the third-grade Canglang Sect—a notable figure.

Despite his usual indulgence in drinking, gambling, and women, he'd made countless connections with all kinds of characters across various powers.

Elder Ji presented his elder token from Canglang Sect, dropped a few familiar names, and showed off a couple of name slips—immediately earning the respect of the guards.

"So it's Elder Ji of Canglang Sect! We've long heard of your great name. Forgive us for not recognizing you sooner," said a Foundation Establishment cultivator with a respectful salute.

"No need to flatter me," Elder Ji replied with a slightly smug tone.

"But," the guard asked in confusion, "why is someone of your stature… driving a carriage himself?"

Elder Ji's face darkened. But not wanting to lose face in public, he answered coolly:

"I am escorting a young master of great status. You are not to offend him."

The gatekeepers' expressions stiffened with awe.

To warrant the personal escort of a third-grade sect's elder—this "young master" must truly be extraordinary.

They didn't even bother inspecting the carriage and let them through immediately.

After all, they were stationed at the gate to keep out riffraff and unregistered wanderers.

As for cultivators of high status or formidable cultivation, they naturally neither dared nor were qualified to interrogate them.

Elder Ji held his head high as he drove the carriage into Little Relay City.

The streets were bustling with people, remarkably lively.

Astonishingly, Foundation Establishment cultivators made up more than half the crowd.

This was an incredibly rare sight in a remote second- or third-grade region like Lizhou.

Even a relatively influential city like Canglang City—classified as third-grade—didn't boast this many Foundation cultivators.

But given how chaotic the world had become, a place that offered even a hint of safety was hard to come by. So, it wasn't too surprising that so many Foundation cultivators had gathered here.

Elder Ji arranged for the carriage to be parked at a rather luxurious inn within the city.

Then, he led Mo Hua to the city's relay bureau, in hopes of finding the steward he once knew—Steward Wang.

It was about a three-li walk from the inn to the bureau.

No one could possibly understand just how torturous that short, uneventful journey was for Elder Ji.

He was terrified that when they got to the bureau, Steward Wang would be nowhere to be found. Mo Hua would get annoyed, glance at him… and then he'd be digging out his own heart in fear.

That bloody scene played on repeat in Elder Ji's mind, leaving him cold with dread.

And of course, the thing you fear most is the one thing that happens.

When they finally reached the bureau and asked a familiar old steward about Steward Wang, the response came:

"Steward Wang? He quit five years ago."

Elder Ji's heart shattered on the spot.

He grabbed the old steward and shook him frantically.

"He quit? Why?! Why would he just quit a stable post like that?!"

"Said the spirit stone pay was too low," the old steward replied matter-of-factly.

Elder Ji exploded,

"Low pay?! Everyone is getting paid low! That's just life! He was a steward—doesn't he have any sense of responsibility? What kind of man quits just like that?!"

The old steward looked at Elder Ji like he was crazy.

Elder Ji then asked,

"Do you at least know where he went?"

The old man shook his head.

"Probably left to find a better-paying gig. But how should I know where he is now?"

Elder Ji was furious and panicking.

The old steward began to cower a bit.

"Please, Elder… I'm just an old man. Show mercy."

Elder Ji couldn't calm his anger.

But then Mo Hua said coolly,

"If he can't be found, let's return to the inn for now."

Elder Ji didn't dare object.

The two returned to the inn. Mo Hua sat down at a table while Elder Ji personally brewed and served him tea, looking extremely uneasy, afraid that Mo Hua might suddenly take his life in a fit of annoyance.

After a long silence, Mo Hua finally spoke:

"Three days."

Elder Ji blinked.

"…Huh?"

Mo Hua said,

"You have three days to find a lead on Steward Wang. If you find it, there's room to work with. If not…"

Mo Hua didn't finish, but Elder Ji understood perfectly.

He immediately bowed with deep gratitude,

"Thank you for your mercy, Young Master Mo. Your great kindness, I will never forget as long as I live!"

He left the room, repeatedly expressing his thanks. But the moment he stepped out, realization hit him.

"Wait… the one threatening to kill me was this Mo guy to begin with!"

"And now I'm thanking him just because he delayed killing me by three days?!"

"…I'm such a damn pushover…"

Elder Ji was filled with frustration and resentment.

He was angry at himself for being spineless and angry at Mo Hua for being such a cold, domineering bastard.

But anger was one thing. Survival was another. He wasn't about to argue with "Little Yama" and gamble with his own life.

Three days wasn't much time.

And if he slacked off even a little, those three days would be the last he ever had.

Elder Ji didn't dare rest. He practically stopped eating and sleeping, searching through the night.

Using all his connections and pulling every string he had, after two sleepless nights and a day, he finally dug up a lead.

Apparently, years ago, Steward Wang had earned some spirit stones and kept a mistress.

Elder Ji took Mo Hua to find this mistress.

She was a flirtatious woman in green, clearly used to being pampered. When Elder Ji mentioned Steward Wang, she curled her lip and said:

"That ungrateful bastard? Don't even bring him up."

Elder Ji was losing patience.

"Where is he?"

"Gone," she replied. "Back when he had spirit stones, he spent them on me. But once he ran out, he didn't dare show his face again."

Elder Ji gritted his teeth,

"Did he ever mention where he might go?"

She sneered,

"How would I know? Men like that—filthy cowards. I don't keep track of their crap."

Elder Ji was fuming.

If Mo Hua weren't here, he had a thousand ways to deal with women like her.

But in front of Mo Hua, he didn't dare overstep.

Mo Hua casually glanced around the room, taking in every detail. His gaze landed on a jade pendant, and a thought crossed his mind. He asked:

"That jade pendant—was it Steward Wang's?"

The woman's face twitched slightly, but under Mo Hua's stare, for some reason, she didn't dare lie.

"…Yes, he gave it to me…"

Mo Hua lifted a finger. With a flick of his divine sense, he pulled the pendant into his hand.

The woman's eyes widened in shock. It was only now that she realized—this incredibly handsome young man standing quietly behind the scarred brute was actually a Foundation Establishment cultivator himself.

Mo Hua rubbed the pendant between his fingers, then produced twenty spirit stones and tossed them to her.

"I'm buying this."

The woman lit up instantly.

"Thank you, Young Master!"

Mo Hua turned to Elder Ji.

"Let's go."

Elder Ji had no choice but to follow. But just as they reached the door, he stopped and turned to Mo Hua.

"Young Master Mo… perhaps you'd like to wait outside for a bit? I could… 'persuade' this lady a little more thoroughly. I promise, she'll spill everything she knows."

Mo Hua's gaze cooled, clearly disgusted—but remembering this was just Elder Ji's nature, he let it slide. He only shook his head and said:

"She knows nothing."

Elder Ji looked puzzled.

"How can you be sure?"

Mo Hua replied calmly:

"No one can lie in front of me."

At least, no cultivator below the Golden Core realm had ever been able to conceal anything from his divine sense.

Elder Ji's heart trembled, his expression turning solemn. "Then...?"

Mo Hua lightly rubbed the jade pendant in his hand and said calmly, "We already have a lead."

Elder Ji was confused.

Mo Hua added, "Come with me."

His gaze turned profound as a white glow of fate-calculation shimmered within his pupils. Through the illusion of the mortal world, he peered at the white threads of karmic cause on the jade pendant, silently tracking the direction of that karmic energy.

Ever since learning the Great Wilderness Demon Bone Divination, Mo Hua's understanding of karma had grown increasingly refined.

And with it, his control over heavenly deduction had also deepened.

Compared to before, his perception of karmic threads was now much sharper.

With ordinary cultivators, he didn't even need to invoke the demon bone technique — just a personal item was enough to serve as a karmic medium. A bit of mental deduction would allow him to trace some lingering karma.

So, following the karmic thread from the jade pendant, Mo Hua passed through Little Relay City and eventually exited the main streets, heading straight to a tall warehouse in the northwestern outskirts.

Mo Hua looked up at the warehouse, confirming that the karmic thread ended right at its doors.

Elder Ji didn't hesitate. He stepped forward to knock, but the sound was heavy and hollow—clearly no one was answering.

He let out a wolf-like growl, muscles bulging as he gathered strength in his fist, about to forcibly smash the door open—

Just then, a cultivator stepped out nearby and shouted angrily:

"Where'd this brute come from, trying to break down my door?!"

Elder Ji turned, looking annoyed—only to be stunned with delight when he recognized the man's short, stocky frame:

"Steward Wang!"

Steward Wang was just as shocked when he saw Elder Ji. "Elder Ji?!" He looked around nervously, clearly in disbelief. "How did you even find me?"

Elder Ji cast a glance at Mo Hua, his awe growing deeper—this "Young Master Mo" was like some ghostly enigma. Before, he'd thought Mo Hua was terrifying like a demon. Now, he looked more like a divine prophet.

But Elder Ji dared not say such things aloud. He just grabbed Steward Wang and said,

"I've been looking for you forever. Come, I have something to ask."

Wang seemed nervous. "Not here… it's not safe to talk." He looked around again, then beckoned,

"Come with me."

He led them to a small room nearby.

Inside, there was tea, wine, and some half-eaten fruit and snacks.

Elder Ji sneered,

"Living quite the cozy life, aren't you?"

Wang chuckled awkwardly.

"Just trying to make a living."

Elder Ji suddenly frowned.

"You quit a proper post at the relay bureau to come here? What for?"

Wang sighed.

"Elder Ji, you know that bureau post was a dead-end job. Couldn't make a decent spirit stone. And I… well, I spend like crazy. If I'd stayed there, I'd have starved."

Elder Ji asked,

"And working in this warehouse pays better?"

Wang just smiled, saying nothing.

Elder Ji knew this guy was greedy and sly, always involved in shady business. He didn't bother to press it and just asked:

"I need you to be honest. Ten years ago, I gave you a 'shipment.' Where did you send it?"

"Ten years ago?" Wang looked pained. "How would I even remember that?"

Elder Ji's face darkened.

"The item was sealed — a demonic beast, chained up, locked in a beast cage, wrapped in demon-hide paper. From the outside, it just looked like a big box of beast hides and bones."

Wang's eyes lit with recognition.

"Wait… yeah, I kind of remember…"

"Where was it sent?" Elder Ji asked urgently.

"It was a major shipment," Wang said. "It was taken by a sand boat… most likely toward the sand sea at the edge of Lizhou…"

Elder Ji's expression shifted.

"If it went through the sand sea, then… it crossed the border and entered the Great Wilderness?"

Wang nodded.

"That should be it…"

"Where in the Great Wilderness?"

Wang looked troubled.

"That's too long ago. I can't remember everything. I'd have to find the old documents at the relay bureau."

Elder Ji said,

"Then go find them."

Wang gave a bitter smile.

"I already quit the bureau. How would I even get access to the archives?"

Elder Ji lost his patience and growled:

"Damn it, I don't care how! Use whatever means you have and go find it. If you do, great. If not—if I die, don't think for a second you'll live either."

Wang turned pale.

"I…"

Elder Ji sneered.

"I'll give you—"

He paused, glanced back at Mo Hua, and asked tentatively:

"Ten days?"

Mo Hua silently stared at him.

"…Nine?" Elder Ji tried again, voice smaller.

Seeing Mo Hua still expressionless, Elder Ji gritted his teeth,

"Five days. Five days, that's all!"

Mo Hua nodded lightly.

Elder Ji turned back to Wang:

"You've got five days. Dig up the record. Or else, by heaven, don't blame me for what happens."

Wang was only at early Foundation Establishment—not remotely a match for Elder Ji. Facing threats to his life, he could only tremble and nod repeatedly,

"I'll… I'll try my best…"

"And don't try any tricks," Elder Ji snapped. "Right now, my head's hanging by a thread—and so is yours."

Wang could only offer a wry smile.

In the following days, Mo Hua again gave Elder Ji a few more nightmares—just enough pressure to keep him on edge.

Elder Ji passed that pressure directly onto Wang.

But Wang didn't disappoint. He gave it everything he had—and in just four days, he finally tracked down the whereabouts of that "shipment"…

(End of this Chapter)