Immortality Through Array Formations Chapter 1977 - 955: Dragon Diagram_3

But wait, wasn't the Second Elder supposed to be dead?

Did he simply fake his demise, or had he shed his physical form like a cicada leaving its shell?

Mo Hua felt a wave of confusion, his brow furrowing in thought.

His previous divinations had been largely accurate; in one way or another, these three individuals were all linked to him.

The sole outlier was this particular young master.

The Second Elder addressed the youth as "Young Master Xuan."

Based on Mo Hua’s deep understanding of the Demon Sect’s Thunder Magnetism Formation, no such figure named "Young Master Xuan" existed within their ranks.

Furthermore, Mo Hua was certain that their paths had never crossed before today.

Who was this person? What possible tie could he have to Mo Hua?

The most baffling detail remained: why had these Golden Core experts from the Demon Sect traveled all the way to Solitary Mountain just to excavate this tomb?

What were they truly after?

Why was this specific burial site constructed within the mining territory of the Shen Family?

What was the reason for the multitude of corpses packed into that bright yellow copper coffin, and where had they been sourced from?

The mining mountain... the Shen Family... the Taoist Demon...

Doubts swirled in Mo Hua's mind, and his expression slowly grew cold.

"Is it possible we are in the wrong location?" The youth in black robes, "Young Master Xuan," said with a frown. "The Shen Family’s mining mountain spans a vast area; perhaps the tomb we seek wasn't built in this spot."

"Otherwise, it makes no sense for that bright yellow copper coffin to be completely empty..."

"Could the Shen Family have constructed multiple sites? Is this grave merely a distraction?"

Mr. Hui’s eyes flickered with uncertainty, though he remained tight-lipped.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Mo Hua, and he spoke up:

"Where is Shen Qingsheng?"

"Shen Qingsheng?"

"The young master from the Shen Family who was taken alongside us," Mo Hua clarified. "Where did he go?"

"Well..." Mr. Hui and his companions exchanged glances.

"It appears... we lost track of him?"

"When exactly did that happen?"

"I believe..." Stone tried to recall, "it was back at the fork in the path."

Shen Qingsheng had been under Mouse’s watch.

However, when the group was ambushed by a swarm of corpse demons and scattered, Mouse’s priority was solely on securing Mo Hua. Naturally, Shen Qingsheng was abandoned.

Since Shen Qingsheng was ultimately expendable, no one had bothered to check if he lived or died; he had been purged from their minds.

Now that they had raided a tomb only to find nothing, the mention of the Shen Family brought Shen Qingsheng back to Mo Hua's memory.

"The young master of the Shen Family..." The black-robed elder murmured, his brow tightening. "We should locate him and demand some answers."

Mr. Hui gave a nod of agreement.

With that, the party began to double back.

They all understood, however, that finding Shen Qingsheng was a long shot given the chaos of the corpse demons and the shifting nature of the underground palace.

Even if they stumbled upon him, there was no guarantee he would still be breathing.

Regardless, the search was necessary.

As they returned to the junction where Earth Formations were densely layered and the tunnels branched out like a web, the duty of navigation fell once again to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua held his compass in one hand while surreptitiously thumbing a copper coin with the other. He divined Shen Qingsheng’s aura and discovered that his karmic threads were still intact. He wasn't dead yet, which was quite a surprise.

It seemed the saying "Good people don’t live long, but evil survives for a thousand years" held a grain of truth.

Following the trail of energy, Mo Hua led the group forward.

After navigating through several winding passages, they finally spotted Shen Qingsheng huddled in a corner.

He was lying on the floor in a state of pure panic, shielded by a shimmering golden glow—clearly the effect of a high-grade protective treasure.

Currently, four or five corpse demons were swarming over him.

The rotting monsters snarled and gnawed at him, but the barrier of the protective treasure prevented them from reaching his skin.

Because of this, Shen Qingsheng had managed to avoid being devoured.

Seeing the young man besieged by the monsters, Mr. Hui stepped forward. With several quick slashes of his blade, he cut down the corpse demons and freed Shen Qingsheng.

Shen Qingsheng, who had been frozen in terror, suddenly exploded with rage once the threat was neutralized. He began kicking the fallen, foul-smelling remains with all his might, his face twisted in disgust.

"A bunch of filthy, hideous, low-born mining cultivators..." he spat.

Mo Hua’s eyes narrowed as he asked in a low, sharp tone:

"How can you tell... that these corpse demons were mining cultivators?"

Shen Qingsheng’s complexion turned ghostly pale. "Isn’t it... obvious? This is a mining mountain... it’s just..."

"That's enough," Mr. Hui cut him off. "I don’t care about mining cultivators. Tell me, this mountain belongs to the Shen Family, doesn't it?"

"Yes..."

"Then this tomb beneath the mountain—was it also the work of the Shen Family?"

"I... I don't know."

Mr. Hui lunged forward, his large hand clamping around Shen Qingsheng’s throat. "Don't play games with me, brat. Speak the truth. Why was your family building this grave?"

Mr. Hui’s voice was jagged, carrying an underlying note of dread.

Shen Qingsheng looked terrified. "I... I truly have no idea... I'm too young to be privy to family secrets, I don't know..."

"Tch, a worthless waste of space." Mr. Hui shoved Shen Qingsheng to the ground.

Shen Qingsheng stumbled, his eyes burning with hidden malice, though he kept his mouth shut.

Mo Hua watched the scene with a calculating gaze, looking from Shen Qingsheng to Mr. Hui. He could see the agitation in Mr. Hui's eyes and the trembling of his divine soul.

"Shen Qingsheng might be ignorant, but Mr. Hui... he definitely suspects something..."

Just as Mo Hua was about to probe Mr. Hui for information, the black-robed elder spoke in a raspy, ancient voice:

"Mr. Hui, why continue this charade at this stage?"

Mo Hua felt a jolt of surprise, a cold shiver running down his spine.

This Second Elder of the Demon Sect, a man capable of suppressing demonic Qi using dragon bones, was truly formidable.

He had sensed Mr. Hui’s deception just as Mo Hua had.

Mr. Hui’s eye twitched nervously. "Senior, I don't follow. What are you implying?"

The elder in black replied, "I asked an old acquaintance to search the Maoshan genealogy. Within the direct lineage, I discovered the exiled Mr. Hui. Given your Maoshan Cultivation, I trust you won't let me down."

Checking the records, investigating his past, and tracing him back to Maoshan.

Mr. Hui’s heart raced.

He had initially believed this contract was a stroke of fortune he had stumbled upon, but in reality, he had been a marked man from the very beginning.