The Quest for Immortality

Yu Er’s Sect life had begun.

Every day, her meals and daily routine were spent with Mo Hua, except, of course, attending classes.

This was because she had just begun Qi Refinement; she needed to gently nurture her meridians and solidify her foundation.

Such fundamental strengthening methods were costly, requiring a huge amount of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, precious Spiritual Liquids. Specific methods varied from person to person, and each noble family had different heritage methods, which Taixu Gate did not teach.

So, when Mo Hua went to the Tao Teaching Pavilion for lessons, Yu Er stayed on her own in the Disciple’s Residence, consolidating her foundation, cultivating, doing homework, and then learning from Wenren Wei’s pointers on the Tao Cultivation Canon.

When Mo Hua finished his classes, he returned to the Disciple’s Residence.

There was Yu Er holding a small bowl, sitting next to Mo Hua, eating together.

Other disciples were shocked to see little Yu Er.

Dressed in a small but exquisite Taixu Gate Taoist Robe, she looked like a disciple of Taixu Gate, but she was too young and could not possibly be a disciple…

Cheng Mo asked Mo Hua, ”Mo Hua, who is this little one?”

Yu Er was unhappy and said in a babyish voice, ”I’m not a little one, I am Shang Guanyu!”

”Shang Guanyu?” Cheng Mo frowned, ”From the Shangguan Family?”

But Yu Er ignored him, bowed her head learning from Mo Hua, and began to shovel rice into her mouth.

Cheng Mo, helpless, knew he couldn’t get upset with a little kid and asked Mo Hua again,

”Your little brother?”

Mo Hua patted Yu Er’s head and said, ”Sort of…”

Cheng Mo looked back and forth between Mo Hua and Yu Er, muttering, ”They do look somewhat alike…”

”From the Shangguan Family...” another disciple asked in surprise on the side, whispering, ”Mo Hua, do you have the bloodline of the Shangguan Family?”

Mo Hua shook his head, ”No.”

Cheng Mo whispered a scolding to the disciple,

”Idiot, how can you blurt such things out? Clearly, it should be kept a secret; if you ask me, Mo Hua must be an illegitimate child of the Shangguan Family cast out into the world…”

Mo Hua too was displeased, saying,

”If you have the time, you could spend more time on homework, practice more on Formation; I think you should use your limited time to study the Bagua Formation Method, instead of gossiping here…”

Hearing the mention of Formation, Cheng Mo got a headache and immediately behaved, laughing awkwardly,

”Don’t, ’Junior Brother,’ I was just joking…”

Seeing Mo Hua put the big and strong man in his place with a single sentence, Yu Er’s eyes sparkled with admiration.

”It seems Brother Mo is quite powerful in Taixu Gate!”

Originally a bit uneasy with all the strangers in Taixu Gate, Yu Er immediately straightened her little back.

She snuggled closer to Mo Hua, peacefully holding her little bowl and continued eating.

Yu Er had since settled into the Disciple’s Residence.

She was cute, pure-hearted, like a mascot, very likable.

Yu Er was very close to Mo Hua.

And Mo Hua was considered their ”Junior Brother.”

With this relationship, everyone also took good care of Yu Er.

Moreover, she had a guard following her with an obscure presence but extraordinary bearing, deep and steady as a mountain, clearly with profound Cultivation.

Joining the Sect in such an unorthodox manner, bringing a guard with her.

This was obviously not an ordinary child.

Some disciples, with connections to the Shangguan Family, inquired with their elders and were astonished to learn of Yu Er’s identity.

They also understood what the three words ”Shang Guanyu” implied, and their looks towards Mo Hua grew even more ”meaningful.”

The Shangguan Family had sent the direct heir of the next Family Head into Taixu Gate, to become your ”little follower.”

This indicated a deep ”relationship” and a solid ”backing”...

Still say you have no background? Pulling the wool over whom?

These disciples became even more courteous towards Mo Hua.

Mo Hua, on the other hand, was somewhat clueless…

...

With Yu Er moving into the Disciple’s Residence, Mo Hua’s days changed slightly, but after adjusting for a few days, he soon settled down.

During the day, he still went to classes, cultivated, and studied.

He occasionally substituted for Elder Master Xun.

It should have been ”occasionally,” but Elder Master Xun grew lazier, claiming his advanced age and flagging energy, becoming a hands-off manager, with Formation lessons now mostly taught by Mo Hua.

It’s just unclear how true it was.

After classes, Mo Hua, if free, would do homework with Yu Er.

He pondered over Spells and practiced Formations.

Yu Er, earnest and serious, worked on her basic beginner’s studies.

During the day, Yu Er was restless, tense, and uneasy, not wanting to do homework. It was only in the evening with Mo Hua that she felt secure and studied more diligently.

At midnight, Yu Er slept.

Mo Hua slept too but remained vigilant, guarding against any Demon Monster that might disturb Yu Er next door, while his Divine Sense sank into his Sea of Consciousness, continuing to study Formation.

Luckily, no Demon Monsters thoughtlessly disturbed Yu Er.

But that was also unfortunate because there were no Demon Monsters without foresight to give Mo Hua some ”provisions”...

Just like that, the Sect life carried on, peaceful and tranquil, busy yet fulfilling.

On rest days, Mo Hua would go out with Senior Sister Murong and others to do bounty missions.

Mo Hua’s original plan was to choose a mission first, then have Uncle Gu assign the mission, Senior Sister Murong accept the mission, and himself tag along to blend in. After catching Sin Cultivators, he would gain both inheritance and Merit Points.

But this was still too idealistic.

He rarely visited the Taoist Court, barely meeting Uncle Gu, and therefore unable to have him assign missions.

The plan was doomed from the start.

Mo Hua sighed.

He could only think of other ways when he had the chance to meet Uncle Gu later on.

For now, Mo Hua, with no connections to the Taoist Court, could only take on bounty missions as they came.