The invitation was personally sent by the head of the Lu Family.
The wording was brief and did not specify any reason, merely asking Mo Hua to visit the Lu Manor to discuss Formation together.
Discuss Formation...
It seemed the Lu Family must have learned of his status as a First-Grade Formation Master; otherwise, the Family Head of the Lu Family wouldn't have personally sent an invitation.
In a Second-Grade Prefecture Border, the status of a First-Grade Formation Master was still quite prestigious.
And within South Yue City, the cultivators who knew of Mo Hua's First-Grade Formation Master status, as far as he could tell, included only Elder Su.
It seemed Elder Su and the Lu Family had no shallow relationship.
Mo Hua furrowed his brow.
To go or not to go?
Could there be any danger?
Mo Hua thought about it and decided to pay a visit.
Without any good reason, the Lu Family wouldn't dare and had no need to harm a First-Grade Formation Master.
If they wanted to act, it would be in secret, unseen and unheard.
Not by sending an invitation and openly welcoming him into the Lu Manor before making a move.
Moreover, Mo Hua was somewhat curious.
He wanted to know what type of person the Lu Family Head was.
Mo Hua shared this matter with Mr. Zhuang.
Mr. Zhuang merely nodded, not saying much.
Mo Hua then felt at ease, Mr. Zhuang's lack of comment indicated there was no danger in this matter.
Bai Zisheng wanted to go with him, but Mr. Zhuang kept him back.
"Practice the formation I taught you a hundred times first…" Mr. Zhuang said.
Bai Zisheng made a bitter face, watching Mo Hua leave the house with ease.
Mo Hua arrived at the Lu Family's estate.
There were disciples of the Lu Family who respectfully received Mo Hua at the entrance and led the way.
Mo Hua took this opportunity to take in the Lu Family's manor.
The first impression was that the Lu Family was very wealthy!
If the Sun Family was a small-time wealthy owner, then the Lu Family was a grand landlord.
The scale of their estate and the grandeur of their architecture surpassed even the Qian Family of Tongxian City in luxury.
And it was the same with formations.
The Lu Family likely had a complete transmission of formation knowledge, and there should also be a First-Grade Formation Master in the family, plus an abundance of Spirit Stones.
Therefore, the entire estate's Architectural Formation was the best Mo Hua had seen so far, superior even to the formations he had designed for the Refinery Shop and the Alchemist's Business.
Of course, it still fell far short of a real Large Formation like the Five Elements Slaughter Demon Great Formation.
The Lu Family disciple escorted Mo Hua to the Lu Family Head's study.
This was Mo Hua's first encounter with the Lu Family Head.
To his surprise, the Lu Family Head was an extremely gentle and refined middle-aged cultivator, bringing warmth like a spring breeze, handsome in appearance, creating an easily favorable impression.
In their conversation, Mo Hua discovered the Lu Family Head had a profound understanding of formations; at the very least, he was a First-Grade Formation Master.
Throughout the conversation, the Lu Family Head showed great admiration for Mo Hua.
The two talked for two hours, only discussing formations and some trivial matters, local customs of South Yue City, and some experiences in Tao Cultivation.
There was not a single mention of the mine.
Mo Hua was shy and polite, while the Lu Family Head was enthusiastic and attentive.
An air of mutual enjoyment between host and guest.
Before departing, the Lu Family Head gave Mo Hua a large and small bundle of gifts—Formation Books, Spiritual Ink, Formation Pens, some Spiritual Meat snacks, and specialty products from South Yue City.
He then had Mo Hua escorted back to the entrance in the Lu Family's luxurious carriage.
Mo Hua, riding back in the Lu Family's opulent and softly cushioned carriage, dumped the big and small Storage Bags in the courtyard of his home.
Bai Zisheng gaped, "Mo Hua, did you go scamming?"
Mo Hua shot him a glance, "I don't scam people."
Bai Zisheng shook his head, "We're fellow disciples, there's no need to lie to me."
He then asked, "All these, were they given to you by the Lu Family?"
Mo Hua nodded.
Bai Zisheng frowned, "Why would they do that?"
Mo Hua mused, "When someone is overly courteous without cause, there must be a problem."
But as for what the problem was, Mo Hua couldn't guess yet; he could only keep this matter in his heart for now.
Mo Hua furrowed his brow.
The pressing issue was to find a way to locate Instructor Yan.
Instructor Yan had been a mentor to him in the transmission of his cultivation.
Now, the situation in South Yue City seemed quite complex.
With forces intertwined, mining cultivators dying tragically, and the sinister Ultimate Formation...
If Instructor Yan really had come here, he may have encountered some misfortune.
Mo Hua wanted to find Instructor Yan quickly to check on his safety.
But after much searching, he still had no clues, so he decided to ask Situ Fang for help.
Situ Fang was a Supervisor at the Taoist Court and he had more ways of finding people than Mo Hua himself did.
Situ Fang agreed to help.
A few days later, Situ Fang came with news of two matters.
One was that a cultivator bearing the surname Yan and resembling a gentleman did indeed arrive in South Yue City a few years ago, and rented a room near the mines on the south side of the city.
But the room had not been inhabited for a long time.
According to nearby cultivators, this Mr. Yan left his house one evening, headed towards the direction of the mine, and never returned...
The second matter was that there were new leads regarding the five miners who had died tragically…