"I have already issued an order that, within one month, disciples and elders of our sect are forbidden to have dealings with the Lu Family. As for what to do afterward, we’ll base our decision on how the situation develops..." Sect Master Zhao’s expression was somber, and then he glanced at Elder Su: "You also shouldn’t interact too much with Lu Chengyun. He’s too cunning for you to handle..." After Sect Master Zhao finished speaking, he promptly offered tea to see the guest off. Elder Su left the tea room with a slight sigh. In the past, he had had a favorable impression of Lu Chengyun. Both being Formation Masters, they got along well, often drinking tea together, discussing the Tao, and even enjoying pleasure quarters together. However, he never imagined that beneath Lu Chengyun’s genteel appearance lay such a heart of darkness... Indeed, it is true that one can know someone’s face but not their heart. Feeling a pang of regret, Elder Su thought of Mo Hua, and a sense of regret washed over him. If he had known this would happen, he would not have told Lu Chengyun all of Mo Hua’s information and gotten himself into Lu Chengyun’s schemes... The more Elder Su thought about it, the more regretful he became, causing him to look up towards the mines with a worried expression, muttering to himself: "I wonder if Mr. Little Mo will be alright..." "And whether we’ll ever be able to have tea together again..." Elder Su sighed. ... "Little Junior Brother won’t be in trouble, will he..." Bai Zisheng sat under the big tree in the courtyard, frowning, filled with concern. "He hasn’t been back for a long time. I’ve been so worried recently that I’ve lost my appetite." Bai Zixi looked at him helplessly: "You just find the meals unpalatable and want him to come back to cook, don’t you..." Bai Zisheng responded with a guilty conscience, "I’m worried about his safety. The cooking is secondary!" Bai Zixi glanced at him indifferently and ignored him. After a moment’s thought, Bai Zisheng added: "Why don’t we just barge in and rescue Little Junior Brother?" "We don’t have enough manpower," Bai Zixi shook her head. "How many people do we have now?" Bai Zisheng asked curiously. Bai Zixi pondered for a moment, her beautiful eyes slightly blinking, and then replied: "Not counting the Situ Family and the Taoist Court, we only have five at the Foundation Establishment level and sixty in Qi Refinement." Bai Zisheng was somewhat disappointed, "That’s all... Are they people from our Bai Family?" "No, they were hired by Aunt Xue with Flower Spirit Stones," Bai Zixi said. "What about the people from our Bai Family?" Bai Zixi looked at him with irritation, "Where would we find people from the Bai Family? We’re in Li State, and the Bai Family is so far away. Given the short time, how could they possibly make it here?" Bai Zisheng frowned, "But with so few people, we’re no match for the Lu Family. How are we going to rescue Mo Hua?" Her gaze cool and contemplative, Bai Zixi said after some thought: "We don’t need to rescue him directly. As long as we make a move, Little Junior Brother should be able to find a chance to escape on his own." Bai Zisheng thought about it and nodded, "That’s true." His Little Junior Brother was very clever and full of tricks. Although lacking somewhat in cultivation, he had many bizarre methods at his disposal. He could use the Concealment Technique and the Water Passing Step. With a strong Divine Sense and expertise in formations. Ordinary cultivators wouldn’t be able to detect him, and ordinary formations couldn’t hold him. As long as there was an opportunity, he would definitely be able to slip away... Bai Zisheng breathed a little easier, muttering to himself: "He should be fine..." Bai Zixi nodded slightly, her brow furrowed. The smiling face of Mo Hua emerged in her mind. She suddenly felt uneasy, her delicate and fair hand unconsciously fiddling with the Little Tiger in her hand. ... Inside the bamboo room, Old Kui spoke in a wooden voice: "There aren’t enough people, right?" Mr. Zhuang nodded, "Not enough." Curious, Old Kui inquired, "Aren’t you worried?" "Worried about what?" With a dry voice, Old Kui said: "With insufficient manpower, how will you deal with the Lu Family, how will you resist the Corpse Tide? You don’t really expect the kid Mo Hua to solve all of this on his own, do you?" "That’s not possible," Mr. Zhuang said. Mr. Zhuang looked into the distance, slowly adding: "Sometimes human efforts reach their limits; great undertakings in this world are not the work of one person alone. Many things also cannot be resolved by a single individual..." "Behind every hero stand many unsung individuals." Mr. Zhuang’s expression was reflective. Old Kui furrowed his brow, "Say something useful." With a click of his tongue, Mr. Zhuang was somewhat speechless: "Can’t you let me finish my reflections?" Old Kui said, "You’ve repeated them too many times; my ears have calluses." Disappointed, Mr. Zhuang "criticized": "Can’t you learn from Mo? He listens very carefully when I speak these words to him!" Old Kui said in silence: "He is your disciple and needs to show you respect. I don’t." "Fine," Mr. Zhuang said helplessly, sighing. Old Kui, wooden in expression, asked, "So, what exactly do you plan to do?" This time Mr. Zhuang spoke candidly: "If we don’t have enough people, I’ll call for some help." Old Kui showed a surprised look, "You will call?" Mr. Zhuang nodded. With a complex expression, Old Kui said quietly, "A loner like you still has people willing to help you?" Mr. Zhuang, displeased, retorted, "Why am I a loner? I have disciples now, and not just one but three!" Old Kui acted as if he hadn’t heard, his brow furrowed as he said: "Who are you asking for help?" Mr. Zhuang gave a mysterious smile. He took out an ancient Copper Coin and tossed it gently into the air. The coin tumbled, stirring the qi, and finally descended slowly, returning to the palm of his fair, slender hand. The Copper Coin reversed, and the Heavenly secret shifted. A trace of qi, almost imperceptible, tugged at causality, rippling outwards. Old Kui was stunned, then his gaze gradually cleared... ... Meanwhile, to the west of Minor Wilderness State Boundary. In a remote Immortal City, three cultivators were resting in an inn. An emaciated elder, a middle-aged cultivator, and a young man in white. In front of them lay a simple spread of food and drink. But none of the three had much appetite. The young man in white silently ate the unappetizing meal, the middle-aged cultivator drank to satisfy his hunger, and the emaciated elder rested with his eyes closed. After three rounds of drinks, the emaciated elder suddenly opened his eyes. Feeling a tremor in his heart, he quickly took out the Three Talents Divination Copper Coin, shook it for a divination, and after calculating once, his eyes revealed shock. The young man in white looked puzzled by this. The middle-aged cultivator asked, "What’s wrong?" The emaciated elder seemed dazed as he murmured, "I’ve actually... pinpointed that person’s location..." The middle-aged cultivator became excited, crushed the wine cup in his hand, and stared as he asked: "Really?" The emaciated elder still found it hard to believe but nodded and said: "Yes! With the Three Talents Divination Copper Coin... the divination sign is clear, there’s no mistake." "But..." the emaciated elder was still somewhat puzzled, muttering to himself: "How did I manage to calculate it? How could I calculate it? How did I come to calculate it... I... I don’t have such ability..." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺 The middle-aged cultivator took it for granted as he said: "Even the wisest can overlook something. We’ve been thieves for a thousand days, and that person has been guarding against thieves for a thousand days; no matter how meticulous, there’s always a moment of negligence, exposing a flaw for you to calculate once, that’s normal..." A gleam of astuteness flashed in the middle-aged cultivator’s eyes, "We must seize this opportunity!" He threw two Spirit Stones onto the table, then immediately stood up, "There’s no time to lose, let’s set out now." The emaciated elder nodded, but was still somewhat doubtful of himself. The young man in white, however, was invigorated, with longing in his eyes as he thought of the person he might soon meet. The three set off immediately, following the lead of the divination signs, heading eastward from the Minor Wilderness State Boundary. In just a few days, the trio arrived at the outskirts of South Yue City. The middle-aged cultivator asked, "Is this the place?" The emaciated elder nodded, "According to the divination signs, yes." The middle-aged cultivator fell silent for a moment, then asked, "What do you think?" The emaciated elder pondered for a moment, then said, "Let’s enter the city first to see what’s going on." "Won’t this alarm our quarry?" the middle-aged cultivator was somewhat concerned. The emaciated elder sneered, "What are you thinking? By the time you thought of coming here, that person might have already known. Our being here is just to try our luck, to see if there are any clues, to see if that person wants to meet us..." The middle-aged cultivator looked astonished and couldn’t help muttering: "Is it really that mystical?" The emaciated elder shook his head with a look that said "you cannot discuss the ice with a summer insect," and then he looked at the young man in white and warned: "Young master, remember what I told you: you can look, but speak little and do less. The causality here is too great, and we cannot afford to provoke it." The young man in white’s expression turned solemn, and he nodded his head. The three entered South Yue City, settled down in an inn, and did some inquiring. After their inquiries, the trio gathered again, all wearing puzzled expressions. "Why are there so many familiar faces?" "Xie family from Kun State, Tu Family from Li State, Yuan Family from Qian State..." "Hidden Taoist Sect, Return Sword Sect, Ten Thousand Formation Mountain..." "Did they all calculate it?" the middle-aged cultivator frowned. The emaciated elder thought for a moment, then suddenly realized: "It turns out it’s not just me who calculated it, but everyone did, or rather, that person let us all calculate it..." The emaciated elder suddenly felt a lot more at ease. In matters of Heavenly secret Calculation, it’s not bad to be mediocre; it’s unexpected complications that are feared. Being mediocre at most means failing to calculate anything, and that’s no big deal. What’s really feared is an accident: If you suddenly can’t calculate something you normally could, or if you suddenly manage to calculate something you normally couldn’t. That’s when trouble might become serious... If someone interferes with the Heavenly secret or there’s a shocking change. Knowing his own limits, the emaciated elder now saw that everyone was present and had also calculated, showing that his skill level had not changed, was just as before, comfortably "mediocre." The heavy weight on the emaciated elder’s heart was finally lifted. Then he began to wonder again: "That person, elusive as a dragon, why would suddenly reveal this bit of trace and entice everyone here? What’s the purpose?" Not only was the emaciated elder curious, but all the cultivators who had converged on South Yue City shared this doubt. But despite their long search, they still found nothing. Not understanding, the emaciated elder relaxed his Divine Sense, scanning South Yue City. There was nothing unusual about South Yue City. He looked again at the mines outside the city. Still, he found nothing. "Impossible..." Not giving up, the emaciated elder set up the Three Talents Divination Copper Coin and cast a divination. This time, he indeed sensed something fishy. The elder pondered for a moment, then cast a spell, blue light gathering in his eyes as he stripped away the outer appearance and glanced once more toward the mine outside the city. This look turned his face pale, his heart filled with dread, as he cried out: "A sky-high surge of Corpse Qi!" "Damn, how many zombies must there be?!"