This gray-robed cultivator, who had hired assassins to kill mining cultivators and then bought their corpses, was surely up to no good.
The Pill that he consumed today to transform and increase his strength, which was bloody and maleficent, was likely refined from those corpses.
Over these years, who knows how many mining cultivators have died because of this.
Not to mention how many mining cultivator families had been torn apart because of it.
Mining cultivators already lived a tough life, earning a living was not easy, and yet they fell victim to such twisted and evil schemes, dying without a whole corpse.
Mo Hua’s face went cold.
So this gray-robed cultivator, he must be slaughtered!
But before slaughtering him, Mo Hua wanted to ask if he knew about Instructor Yan’s whereabouts.
Instructor Yan had disappeared in the mines.
The worst-case scenario was that he had been killed by people like Wang Lai, and his body sold to the gray-robed cultivator.
There was also a possibility that Instructor Yan had discovered something, and by following the trail, had investigated further...
If so, Instructor Yan likely had some interactions with the gray-robed cultivator.
Regardless of the circumstances, Mo Hua needed confirmation.
However, on the Compass Mother Formation Disk, there was no light indicating the gray-robed cultivator’s presence.
"Is it broken?"
Bai Zisheng furrowed his brows.
Mo Hua checked the formation and shook his head, "It’s not broken."
"So, that means... he discovered your Compass Child Formation Needles?"
"Even if he did discover them, if the needles were discarded or damaged, the compass would have shown some reaction."
Bai Zixi thought for a moment and then slowly said,
"Because of the Escape Technique?"
Mo Hua was startled and then understood.
The gray-clothed cultivator knew the Escape Technique and could burrow into the ground, shielding the aura of the Formation and affecting the connection between the Compass Mother and Child Formations.
If nothing appeared on the Mother Formation, it meant he was either still in the tunnels and hadn’t come out,
or the gray-clothed cultivator had used the Escape Technique and was somewhere underground.
Mo Hua thought for a while and then said,
"Let’s wait."
As a Monster Hunter, hunting prey required ample patience.
This was something his father Mo Shan had taught him.
Two days later, Situ Fang came over and told Mo Hua that the Taoist Court had identified the gray-clothed cultivator’s identity.
"This man is named Zhang Quan, a cultivator from South Yue City. His family has been in the longevity material business for generations..."
"Longevity material?" Mo Hua was slightly startled.
"That’s coffins."
"Oh," Mo Hua understood.
Being in the coffin business...
It did match the image, temperament, and actions of the gray-clothed cultivator quite well.
Situ Fang continued,
"Thirty years ago, Zhang Quan’s parents died, and he took over the coffin shop alone..."
"Zhang Quan’s aura is somewhat gloomy; he does not converse with fellow cultivators, but since he’s in the business of death, everyone has come to accept it as normal."
"Zhang Quan occasionally gambles and frequents brothels..."
"I asked a few female cultivators from the Hundred Flower Tower, and from what they say, Zhang Quan often stays at brothels but rarely shows his true face."
"Cultivators who knew Zhang Quan also had no idea that he actually was a Foundation Building Cultivator."
Mo Hua asked, "Have you been to Zhang Quan’s residence?"
Situ Fang nodded, "We have. The shop was closed. We broke in and found that all the coffins inside had been burned, and other objects had been destroyed as well."
"It’s uncertain whether he did it himself or if he has an accomplice helping him destroy evidence of his crimes."
"The current question is, what exactly is he using the corpses he buys for?"
"Is the pill he took that day made from those corpses?"
"If so, where did he refine it, where is the pill furnace, how did he get the pill recipe, through what channels did he purchase the herbs for refining Evil Pills?"
"Did he refine them himself, or is someone helping him do it?"
"Besides, does he have any other unspeakable purposes..."