The Quest for Immortality

Minor Wilderness State Boundary, South Yue City, Instructor Yan, traitor, Spiritual Pivot Formation…

Mo Hua briefly organized his thoughts and then glanced again at Mr. Zhuang, asking softly,

”Master, is South Yue City on our way?”

He had been wanting to ask this before.

Instructor Yan had the kindness of enlightening him and providing him with opportunities.

To repay kindness with great generosity is only proper.

Mo Hua wanted to find Instructor Yan to see if there was anything he could help with.

He also had a bit of a selfish motive, wanting to see what a First-Grade Twelve Stripe Spiritual Pivot Formation was really like.

Whether he was capable of learning it, whether he could master it, and ultimately, whether he could use it to refine his Divine Sense to reach the realm of Thirteen Stripes.

But he didn’t know where the sect Mr. Zhuang intended to visit was located, and whether it was on the way.

If it wasn’t on the way, he couldn’t just take the liberty to change Mr. Zhuang’s plans.

Mr. Zhuang shook his head, ”No, it’s not on our way.”

”I see…” Mo Hua felt a bit disappointed.

”But we can take a detour,” Mr. Zhuang added.

Mo Hua was slightly stunned, ”Won’t that delay our journey?”

”Not at all,” Mr. Zhuang said with a smile. ”As long as you can learn the Formation, it won’t be a waste of time.”

Mo Hua felt warm inside.

After Mr. Zhuang had spoken, he sighed slightly,

”Moreover, I too want to see what is so special about the Spiritual Pivot Formation passed down by the Great Hidden Spirit Sect from those days.”

”Hmm,” Mo Hua nodded.

Now he was reassured, but at the same time, he felt a bit puzzled.

He always had the feeling that Mr. Zhuang’s journey out into the world seemed to be for the purpose of teaching him Formation techniques…

Mo Hua furrowed his brow.

This doubt had plagued him for a while.

Along the way, Mr. Zhuang was unhurried, claiming to be heading to a certain sect, yet he didn’t seem particularly urgent about it.

Instead, he spent the journey teaching him how to perform Calculation, how to derive, how to find Ultimate Formations, and how to comprehend them…

Moreover, even upon reaching the destinations, it was also for the purpose of having him learn Formations.

What about himself, then?

What exactly did his master wish to do?

Mo Hua stealthily sneaked a glance at Mr. Zhuang.

Mr. Zhuang’s expression was serene and detached, inscrutably profound, revealing nothing.

”Who knows what Master is thinking about…” Mo Hua muttered to himself.

If his master had any wishes,

Maybe he could help fulfill them once his own cultivation was high enough.

It’s just that he didn’t know when that day would come…

After all, he was still but a small cultivator in the Qi-refining Realm.

Mo Hua let out a slight sigh.

At that moment, Mr. Zhuang was unaware of the little thoughts running through Mo Hua’s mind. Instead, he spoke to Old Kui, who was driving the carriage,

”Take a detour, to South Yue City.”

Old Kui pulled on the reins, and Big White neighed, its hooves striking the ground as it turned its head, taking another path that led to the road towards the Minor Wilderness State Boundary…

The Minor Wilderness State Boundary was also the Second-Grade Prefecture Border of Li State.

The Heavenly Dao Formation beneath restricted the highest level of cultivation one could use to Foundation Establishment.

Li State was ruled by the element of fire, and was filled with intense fire energy.

Tongxian City to the north had a slightly better climate, with mountains and rivers, lush vegetation—yet most of the year was quite hot, especially the spring and summer, which were particularly sweltering.

However, the Minor Wilderness State Boundary was located to the east of Li State, in a southern position, and the climate was even drier.

Along the way, there were grass and trees, but less in number, mostly in shades of brown and not growing densely.

Cultivators live off the mountains and the waters.

The few immortal cities en route mostly lived by Monster Hunting, and the next largest group was the Mining Cultivators.

The so-called Mining Cultivators were those who mined for a living.

Locally, they had other names, such as ”Stone Mason,” ”Stone Worker,” ”Miner,” and ”Mine Laborer,” among others.

Cultivators of different regions had different customs and expressions.

Among these Mining Cultivators, there were some who mined Spiritual Mines, but they were rare.

The Spiritual Mines of the Minor Wilderness State Boundary were either under the control of the Taoist Court or occupied by some large Clans and Sects.

Spiritual Mines were extremely important, usually mined by practitioners from one’s own faction, rarely assigned to these external Loose Cultivators.

What these Mining Cultivators extracted were mines containing copper and iron.

Copper and iron from the Cultivation World were incredibly tough and required Body Refinement cultivators, expending great effort to excavate.

The mined copper and iron were used for Artifact Refining, construction, Alchemy, and other industries.

Even the Formation Pen used by Formation Masters and Spiritual Ink occasionally contained a bit of copper or iron powder.

The Minor Wilderness State Boundary wasn’t rich in other resources, but it had plenty of mines.

Therefore, local Loose Cultivators lived by selling their labor, excavating mines for sustenance.

In the many trades of Tao Cultivation, though it was never explicitly stated, Mining Cultivators also belonged to the bottom ”vile trades” and were taken up only by impoverished Loose Cultivators.

Mining was not simple; it had its own special techniques.

Mo Hua, on the road, only glanced at them from afar, so he did not have a clear understanding.

But in general, the Minor Wilderness State Boundary was indeed as desolate as its name implied.

Due to the desolation, there were more bandits on the road.

It wasn’t long after setting out that the carriage would be stopped by some bandits.

These bandits didn’t spout nonsense like ”This mountain was opened by me, and this tree was planted by me, to pass from here leave some toll money.”

The mountains were excavated by the Mining Cultivators, and the desolate mountains had no trees to plant.

Instead, they got straight to the point by saying things like,

”Hand over your Spirit Stones,” ”Leave behind the carriage and horses,” ”and you can keep your lives,” and such.

In these situations, Mo Hua generally treated them differently.

That’s because the composition of the bandits was also very complex.

Some were genuinely poor, their families couldn’t make ends meet, their wives and children were on the brink of starvation, and they had no choice but to cover their faces, arm themselves with knives, and rob passersby.

Mo Hua thought that this wasn’t right, but given that they were driven by necessity, he wouldn’t blame them harshly.

And these people knew how to behave themselves.

Although they talked tough, most could be dismissed with just a few Spirit Stones.

Often just a moment ago, they would be shouting, ”Hand over the Spirit Stones, and we’ll spare your lives!” or similar harsh threats.

Once Mo Hua gave them a few Spirit Stones, they would become extremely polite.

Some, probably desperate to their limits and having not earned Spirit Stones in a long time, would even kneel and kowtow non-stop, repeating:

”Thank you, thank you, young brother!”

These Cultivators didn’t ask for much, just a few Spirit Stones to buy some coarse grains and bran, enough to feed a family for half a month.

They weren’t greedy; a few Spirit Stones relieved them of their burden, and they would leave.

Watching this, Mo Hua felt both amused and a bit sad.

Some Cultivators were just lazy and fond of pleasure, intending to rob homes to make a fortune.

After Mo Hua gave them a few Spirit Stones, they would still be unsatisfied.

That’s when Mo Hua would stop being polite.

With a Fireball Technique for each, he would knock them all down, letting them lie on the ground for a good ”reflection.”

Such laziness always accompanied the neglect of cultivation.

Therefore, these kinds of bandits generally didn’t have high cultivation.

Used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong, their martial arts and spells were both terribly lousy.

None of them were a match for Mo Hua.

Of course, there were also some ”tough cookies.”

These were considered local ”habitual bandits,” organized but not strong, having rules but not strict.

They simply had many people, each with a vicious and greedy nature.

They relied on their numbers and, seeing Mo Hua as a little Cultivator, would demand an exorbitant ransom.

After Mo Hua gave them Spirit Stones, they still thought it not enough.

They wanted Mo Hua and his companions to leave behind their horses and carriages.

The more outrageous thing was, they inadvertently caught sight of Bai Zixi and blurted out:

”The little girl stays!”

The other few bandits also looked on with drooling faces, ”This little girl looks good, probably worth a lot of Spirit Stones if sold in the city.”

”At least a few hundred...”

”Worthless scum, she’s worth thousands!”

Mo Hua got angry.

How dare they target his little martial sister?

Bai Zisheng got even angrier.

He didn’t waste words, directly drawing his long spear, his pale golden Spiritual Power stirring as he moved like a phantom, easily penetrating the thighs of the bandits before him, forcing them to kneel.

Then he sheathed his spear and started beating them with his fists.

From drawing his spear to throwing his punches, it all happened in the blink of an eye.

The bandits were in an uproar, which then turned into rage:

”What an arrogant brat!”

”Let’s get him together!”

”Take them down!”

”Sell them to the slavers!”

...

The other bandits also rushed together.

Some circled Bai Zisheng, while others charged at Mo Hua.

Bai Zisheng remained calm, his Spiritual Power surging, his fist strikes formidable, fighting in all directions.

As a descendant of a noble clan, at the peak of the Qi Refining Ninth Level, with supreme Martial Arts and Spells, and often sparring with Mo Hua, he had little trouble dealing with these ragtag bandits.

Though there were many bandits, they fought each individually, without coordination or strategy, and gradually, they were defeated one by one.

Some came at Mo Hua as well.

Mo Hua, riding on Big White, flicked his fingers, and Fireball Techniques flew out one after another, knocking down all the bandits who approached.

There wasn’t any bandit that a single Fireball Technique couldn’t solve.

If it didn’t work, then another was on its way!

Only one fish slipped through the net, managing to get within ten feet of Mo Hua in the gap between Fireball Techniques.

But before he could act, Big White kicked out and sent him flying.

The bandit was kicked like a sandbag, smashing into the mountain wall, and then falling to the ground with his bones shattered to pieces.

Big White nuzzled Mo Hua with its head as if to take credit.

Mo Hua embraced Big White’s neck with a hand, smiling:

”Today we’ll grab some extra grass to treat you!”

Big White gave a contented ”whinny” in response.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the group of bandits had been utterly defeated, all lying on the ground moaning in pain.

A few who tried to run were fixed in place by Mo Hua’s Water Prison Technique, then caught up with by Bai Zisheng, who impaled each one with his spear.

Bai Zisheng was still unsatisfied, ”Dare to covet my sister?”

He then beat up several leaders of the bandits once more.

Mo Hua thought about it and decided he should exercise his muscles as well, so he drew out the Thousand Jun Stick and joined in on the beating.

Though they weren’t beaten to death, they were nearly there.

After the beating, Bai Zisheng, seeing their pitiful state, wondered:

”Isn’t this a bit too excessive?”

Mo Hua shook his head, ”It’s not excessive for such scum.”

Bai Zisheng nodded, ”True.”

Mo Hua raised his pinky finger, concluding:

”Speaking on a smaller scale, this is called ’punishing evil and promoting good, acting courageously for justice’; speaking on a larger scale, this is contributing to the stability of the Minor Wilderness State Boundary...”

Bai Zisheng exclaimed in shock,

”Mo Hua, you sure can blather on. With your gift of gab, if you ever enter the Taoist Court, you’re sure to do well.”

He’d beaten a group of bandits out of personal grudge, yet could spin it so righteously.

Mo Hua wasn’t pleased, ”I’m being honest. I’ve always told the truth...”

”We’re fellow Sect members, who are you trying to fool?”

...

Bai Zixi watched the two bickering with a gentle smile floating in her autumn-water-like eyes.