The Quest for Immortality

Elder Yu informed Mo Hua about someone inquiring about array masters, and advised Mo Hua to be cautious.

One should not harbor the intent to harm others, but must always be vigilant against being harmed.

Mo Hua thought it over and felt that the possibility of being suspected was quite low. Unless it was someone familiar, it was unlikely that an ordinary cultivator would believe that a ten-year-old Mo Hua could draw a First Grade array.

Mo Hua was more worried about Mr. Zhuang. He feared that the Qian family might suspect Mr. Zhuang and cause trouble for him.

Mo Hua went to see Mr. Zhuang and briefly explained the situation.

Mr. Zhuang, upon hearing this, merely smiled and said, ”Do what you believe is right. There’s no need to worry about me.”

”Won’t the Qian family trouble you?”

”They won’t find me.”

”What if they do?” Mo Hua was still a bit uneasy.

”’Originally there is nothing, so where does the dust alight?’ They won’t be able to find me,” Mr. Zhuang said calmly.

Mo Hua nodded in partial understanding, feeling that Mr. Zhuang’s words were somewhat cryptic, not entirely sure what he meant.

But since Mr. Zhuang said so, he must be confident, and Mo Hua felt reassured.

Mr. Zhuang was profound and mysterious, likely not putting the Qian family in his eyes, but if trouble arose because of the Qian family and disturbed Mr. Zhuang’s peaceful cultivation, that wouldn’t be good.

”How is your array learning going?” Mr. Zhuang asked.

”I have learned both the First Grade Molten Fire Spirit Control Composite Array and the First Grade Fire-Wood Dual Birth Composite Array, and I have used them on the furnace,” Mo Hua said happily.

Mr. Zhuang nodded in approval, ”Not bad.”

Mo Hua smiled and then asked, ”Sir, what array should I learn next?”

”Find some composite arrays to learn casually,” Mr. Zhuang said. ”When you break through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining and see the Riddle Array in your Sea of Consciousness, then make further plans.”

”Alright,” Mo Hua nodded.

What kind of Riddle Array would the bottleneck at the seventh layer of the Heavenly Proliferation Technique be?

Mo Hua was both expectant and a bit apprehensive.

After bidding farewell to Mr. Zhuang, Mo Hua returned home as usual, but on the way, he encountered An Xiaofu.

”What a coincidence,” Mo Hua greeted An Xiaofu.

An Xiaofu, with a drooping head and a frowning face, replied, ”Not really. My grandpa and my dad specifically had me wait for you nearby.”

”Huh?” Mo Hua was taken aback.

”They wanted me to pretend to meet you by chance and get close to you,” An Xiaofu explained. ”But you’re so smart, you’d see through it at a glance, so I didn’t bother pretending. My grandpa and dad also asked me to...”

An Xiaofu spilled everything his grandpa and dad had instructed him to do, both what he could say and what he couldn’t, all in one go.

Mo Hua was amused and exasperated.

An Xiaofu felt much better after saying everything.

He felt that his task was accomplished, having said everything his grandpa and dad wanted him to say and done everything they wanted him to do.

Though the method might be a bit different from what they instructed, the result was the same.

An Xiaofu breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

”By the way, here are some gifts my grandpa asked me to give you. Please accept them,” An Xiaofu handed over a storage bag containing some array books, a few array pens, and a considerable amount of spirit ink.

They weren’t too valuable, but they were carefully selected to suit Mo Hua’s tastes, clearly showing a lot of thought had been put into them.

Mo Hua declined at first.

An Xiaofu shoved the bag into Mo Hua’s hand, ”If I take it back, my grandpa will scold me. If I give it to you, he might even praise me. Besides, it’s not that valuable. Just take it. Refusing a free gift would be silly.”

Mo Hua thought for a moment and nodded, ”Indeed.”

Not wanting to be ”silly,” Mo Hua accepted the gifts and then said, ”Come on, I’ll treat you to something to eat!”

An Xiaofu waved his hand, ”How could I let you spend money?”

”It’s not spending,” Mo Hua said, ”My family owns the place!”

An Xiaofu, curious, thought that since there wasn’t anything fun to do at home, he might as well follow Mo Hua and have some fun.

Following Mo Hua through several streets and around a few corners, An Xiaofu saw a restaurant at the end of the road. The sign fluttered in the wind, and the spacious ground was filled with clean tables and long benches.

Customers gathered in small groups, eating meat and drinking wine, clinking glasses, and enjoying a lively atmosphere.

The smell of meat and wine wafted through the air, carried away by the breeze.

This was a scene An Xiaofu had never experienced.

”Mother,” Mo Hua waved from a distance.

Liu Ruhua smiled as she came out, noticing Mo Hua and the well-dressed chubby boy beside him. She asked curiously, ”Who is this?”

An Xiaofu bowed politely, ”Hello, Auntie. My name is An Xiaofu.”

”The An family?”

An Xiaofu nodded, ”My father is the head of the An family.”

Liu Ruhua was a bit surprised and then looked at Mo Hua, wondering how he got to know the young master of the An family.

Mo Hua said, ”Mother, I invited Xiaofu for a meal. Could you make something delicious?”

”So young and already inviting guests...” Liu Ruhua laughed, then asked An Xiaofu, ”What would you like to eat, young master An?”

An Xiaofu waved his hand, ”Just call me Xiaofu. I’m not picky, anything is fine.”

Liu Ruhua nodded, ”You two play for a while, and I’ll prepare something to eat.”

Mo Hua then pulled An Xiaofu to a bright table to sit down.

An Xiaofu looked around and said, ”So this is your family’s restaurant.”

”Yes!” Mo Hua said proudly.

He had helped a lot to get this restaurant up and running.

An Xiaofu was a bit envious, ”That’s great.”

Mo Hua asked in confusion, ”Doesn’t your An family have the Spirit Meal Tower? Isn’t it bigger and more grand?”

”It’s different,” An Xiaofu thought for a moment, ”Although the Spirit Meal Tower is big and quiet, it always feels cold and lonely. Eating there isn’t fun.”

An Xiaofu looked at the surrounding customers.

There were demon hunters, artifact refiners, alchemists, local independent cultivators, passing vendors, and foreign merchants, all gathered together, eating and chatting, laughing and talking.

Sometimes, even those who met by chance would enthusiastically chat, share a drink, and wish each other well on their journey.

”Everyone gathering together like this, eating lively, is more interesting,” An Xiaofu said.

Mo Hua felt the same, ”Then eat more later, my mother’s cooking is delicious.”

”Thank you,” An Xiaofu thanked him.

But he was just being polite, not expecting it to be particularly good.

The An family ran the Spirit Meal Tower, employing famous chefs who studied top recipes and created exquisite delicacies.

He ate the best food every day, what could be better?

But when Liu Ruhua brought out the dishes, An Xiaofu realized he had never tasted anything like it before.

An Xiaofu took a bite and asked, ”What kind of meat is this?”

”Beast meat,” Mo Hua took a bite, ”Probably some kind of sheep. If it were in Dahei Mountain, I could recognize it, but now it’s on a plate, I can’t.”

An Xiaofu was surprised, ”Beast meat can be cooked so well?”

”Yeah, who would’ve thought.”

An Xiaofu took another bite, savoring it, ”This seasoning is different too.”

”You can tell the seasoning?”

An Xiaofu nodded.

”What can you identify?” Mo Hua asked curiously.

”Hmm...” An Xiaofu thought, ”There’s cassia leaf, mustard seed, plum, flower ginger...”

An Xiaofu listed several, then said, ”There are also some unique flavors I haven’t tasted before, so I can’t name them.”

Mo Hua was amazed, ”You’re impressive!”

Some of these seasonings were bought from the market, while others were rare herbs Mo Hua had picked from outside Dahei Mountain. It was normal that An Xiaofu didn’t know their names.

But being able to identify so many was already impressive.

Embarrassed by the praise, An Xiaofu said, ”I just eat a lot, so I can recognize them. It’s not really useful. I’m nothing compared to you...”

Mo Hua was an array master with high-level skills that even his grandpa found unbelievable.