Chapter 1407: Buried?
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Chapter 1405: Buried?
After that, Mo Hua began living the life of drawing formations for Manager Zhao of the Fortune Pavilion, earning spirit stones to “repay his debt.”
The last time he earned spirit stones by drawing formations for a merchant pavilion seemed to be when he was still very, very young, back in Tōngxiān City.
At that time, he had just begun cultivation and had only learned a few formation patterns. He even impersonated his own “elder brother” to trick Manager Mo of the Destiny Pavilion, taking on quite a few commissions and earning a good number of spirit stones.
That was also the beginning of Mo Hua’s journey, from a lone rogue cultivator, step by step becoming a small formation master, gradually changing his fate.
Now, Mo Hua was already a Golden Core cultivator. Yet, having arrived in the unfamiliar land of Kun Province, he had to start over again, drawing formations to earn spirit stones…
Thinking of this, Mo Hua paused slightly, feeling a wave of nostalgia for his days in Tōngxiān City.
“I wonder how Manager Mo is doing now… is he still as plump as before…”
“And Instructor Yan’s Small Spirit Veil Sect… I wonder how it’s going…”
“It’s been so long since I’ve gone back to Tōngxiān City… I don’t know how my parents are doing either… And the Strange Dao calamity in the royal court, as well as the chaos in the Great Wilderness… I wonder if it will spread to Tōngxiān City…”
Worry crept into Mo Hua’s heart. After pondering for a moment, he frowned slightly.
“When I get the chance, I must return to Tōngxiān City and take a look.”
More than ten years had passed since he left home to pursue the Dao. Even his parents’ faces had begun to grow a little blurry.
Mo Hua shook his head, then refocused and began drawing formations.
…
He quickly finished the second batch of commissions given by Manager Zhao.
However, in order to keep a low profile, Mo Hua deliberately dragged things out for quite a few days, only delivering the finished products around the twentieth day.
At the Fortune Pavilion, when Manager Zhao received Mo Hua’s completed formations and saw they were as flawless as ever, he was even more astonished.
“It’s only been twenty days, and you’ve already finished again?”
“Once you’ve done it once, the second time comes easier. So I was a bit faster this time,” Mo Hua replied.
Manager Zhao shook his head and sighed, “Incredible, truly incredible.”
He wanted to invite Mo Hua upstairs again, but Mo Hua declined.
There wasn’t anything interesting on the second floor anyway, and even the tea wasn’t as good as what Little Ju brewed.
So Mo Hua said, “Manager Zhao, no need for the trouble. Do you have more formation commissions? I need to hurry back…”
To have dinner with Senior Sister.
Manager Zhao was a little surprised. “You’re still drawing?”
Mo Hua nodded.
Manager Zhao frowning slightly, and asked, “Young Master Mo… are you really that short on spirit stones?”
Mo Hua didn’t hide it. “Very short.”
Manager Zhao hesitated as if wanting to say more, but ultimately respected Mo Hua’s wishes.
In business, what mattered was making both clients and partners feel comfortable. Since Mo Hua didn’t want to stay, there was no need for him to insist.
So Manager Zhao handed over another batch of formation commissions.
“Please go ahead, Young Master Mo. If you need anything else, feel free to tell me.”
“Many thanks, Manager Zhao.” Mo Hua replied.
After that, Mo Hua left.
Manager Zhao watched Mo Hua’s departing figure and fell into deep thought.
This time, only eighteen days passed before Mo Hua delivered the completed formation orders to Manager Zhao again.
Mo Hua had already delayed as much as he could—even to the point of getting impatient himself—but Manager Zhao was still utterly shocked.
This Young Master Mo… could actually get even faster?
Looking at the formations in his hands—fast, flawless, and increasingly efficient—Manager Zhao was momentarily stunned.
At this point, after more than two months in total, Mo Hua had finally repaid the five hundred thousand spirit stone debt.
From now on, any Spirit stones earned from drawing formations would count as new income.
Only after feeding those in could he increase the progress of his Taotie Twelve-Meridian Spiritual Skeleton Formation.
Mo Hua asked again, “Manager Zhao, are there more commissions?”
He had to start earning money now.
Manager Zhao broke into a slight sweat. This Young Master Mo was working too hard, wasn’t he afraid of exhausting his Sea of Consciousness to death?
“There are… but Young Master, you…”
“It’s fine. I know my limits,” Mo Hua said.
“…Alright then.” Manager Zhao sighed and instructed a steward, “Bring all the recent commissions, everything above mid to high tier Second Grade, for Young Master Mo.”
“Recent ones?” Mo Hua was somewhat surprised. “Is that all you have left?”
Manager Zhao seemed to feel a faint sense of insult and replied seriously, “Our Fortune Pavilion naturally has plenty of commissions…”
Just not enough for you to draw like this.
Moreover…
Manager Zhao added, “Right now happens to be the off-season. Traffic is low, so we don’t have much stock of commissions.”
Mo Hua was surprised. “There’s an off-season and peak season for this kind of thing?”
Manager Zhao nodded. “Of course. In any business, there are always off-seasons and peak seasons. Sometimes you don’t make a sale for three years, but when you do, it can you for three years.”
Sustain you for three years?
Mo Hua’s eyes lit up. “When is the peak season?”
“Well…” Manager Zhao pondered. “Hard to say. It depends on the market.”
“When is the market good?”
“When the market is good, it’s good.”
Mo Hua nodded, thinking that Manager Zhao truly deserved to be a master of business, his words were flawless, yet somehow said nothing at all.
But Mo Hua also understood. It wasn’t that Manager Zhao didn’t want to say, it was simply how business worked.
The market changed constantly. It had to be judged by oneself; there was no fixed standard.
Making such judgments required years of experience and insight.
Manager Zhao himself was probably waiting too, for the right timing, the right trend. A casual question like his couldn’t possibly yield a clear answer.
“Then when the market’s good, be sure to bring me along,” Mo Hua said.
Manager Zhao nodded. “Of course, of course.”
…
Afterward, Mo Hua left Fortune Pavilion and returned to his small blessed land, continuing to draw formations.
Whenever he had spare time, he practiced spells and pondered the concept of all methods being interconnected, but could only practice secretly in his own room.
After all, the training room had been blown up, and True Person Rong had forbidden him from using it again.
Another fifteen days passed, and Mo Hua went to see Manager Zhao again.
Manager Zhao accepted the formations Mo Hua handed over.
The formations were still as stunning as ever, but now he felt a headache coming on.
Mo Hua saw right through his thoughts. “No more commissions?”
“There are… a few… but…” Manager Zhao changed the subject. “Young Master Mo, let’s talk upstairs.”
Mo Hua wanted to refuse, not wanting to waste time.
But Manager Zhao said, “Your payment totals one hundred seventy thousand spirit stones. The steward will need a bit more time to prepare it.”
With the five hundred thousand debt settled, the Fortune Pavilion now had to pay Mo Hua for his work.
For the sake of the 170,000 spirit stones, Mo Hua nodded. “Alright.”
On the second floor, it was the same as before, beautiful attendants, incense burning, and Dragon Mist Tea brewing.
After two cups of tea, Manager Zhao waved the attendants away and said to Mo Hua, “Young Master Mo, there are some things… I’m not sure if I should ask…”
“Go ahead,” Mo Hua replied.
Whether I answer is another matter.
Manager Zhao continued, “Then I’ll ask. If I’m being presumptuous, please don’t take offense, young master.”
He valued this Young Master Mo highly and feared offending him.
Mo Hua nodded.
Manager Zhao asked, “Young Master Mo… why are you so short on spirit stones?”
Mo Hua was puzzled. “Is it strange to lack spirit stones?”
To cultivators, spirit stones were money.
Who in this world didn’t lack money?
Manager Zhao said, “But… judging by your appearance, temperament, and your level of formation mastery, you don’t seem like someone who would lack spirit stones…”
In this world, people either lived off their looks or their abilities.
This Young Master Mo had both, yet claimed to lack spirit stones. It truly didn’t make sense, and Manager Zhou was quite puzzled.
Mo Hua found it hard to explain. His Life-Bound Magic treasure was simply a massive consumer of spirit stones.
Seeing his hesitation, Manager Zhao immediately understood.
“Young Master Mo… could it be that your background is… not very favorable?”
Mo Hua nodded. “I’m actually from a rogue cultivator background.”
Manager Zhao was startled.
A rogue cultivator… reaching Golden Core in this era, and even becoming a Second Grade high-tier Formation Master?
Then he recalled Mo Hua’s weak aura—his Golden Core quality didn’t seem very high—and he felt he understood a bit more.
He asked again, “You mentioned earlier… your Senior Sister…”
Mo Hua nodded.
Manager Zhao continued, “So right now… you’re living under someone else’s roof? Staying with your Senior Sister?”
“Something like that,” Mo Hua replied.
Having seen countless people, Manager Zhao immediately formed a judgment in his heart.
This Young Master Mo before him was clearly someone of humble origins, who, relying on his outstanding looks and almost otherworldly temperament, had caught the eye of a Senior Sister from some powerful aristocratic clan, and was thus brought to Kun Province to be “kept.”
In Kun Province, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, for his Senior Sister to have her own residence and even support someone else, her background and status were definitely extraordinary.
But even so, she absolutely wouldn’t give him too many spirit stones.
Because when a man have too many spirit stones, they tend to go astray. She wouldn’t want her Junior Brother to go astray.
Of course, there was another possibility…
That this Young Master Mo had great ambitions and was unwilling to remain under his Senior Sister’s shadow, so he studied formations diligently, striving to prove himself.
With his rich life experience, Manager Zhao instantly imagined an entire story titled “The Struggle of a Handsome Junior Brother Kept by a Domineering Aristocratic Senior Sister.”
Manager Zhao sighed inwardly.
Now everything made sense.
Why such a refined and handsome young man only had an inferior-grade Golden Core.
Why, despite having such high attainment in formations, he was still short on spirit stones.
In this era, how difficult it was for those of humble origins to cultivate.
No matter how talented you were, if you wanted to rise, you ultimately had to sell yourself to powerful clans and nobles, be “kept” in various senses, and lose your freedom.
Manager Zhao then glanced at Mo Hua’s face and thought to himself:
“This Young Master Mo’s Senior Sister truly has good taste. Being able to keep such a talented and handsome youth is also her capability. She must dote on this charming Junior Brother in every possible way, treating him as her exclusive treasure…”
“With a talented man and a beautiful woman, living together alone, like fire meeting oil… Young Master Mo must have received plenty of ‘care’… truly, he’s suffered…”
Adults’ thoughts tend to get a little dirty.
And Manager Zhao had been an adult for a long time, so his mind wandered through all sorts of messy ideas.
Mo Hua could guess that Manager Zhao was definitely gossiping about him in his heart.
But although his mind was monstrously sharp, his thoughts were pure, so he couldn’t quite figure out exactly what Manager Zhao was imagining…
More importantly, he had a more pressing concern.
Mo Hua asked again, “Manager Zhao, such a big Fortune Pavilion, are there really no more orders?”
He was starting to suspect Manager Zhao was brushing him off.
Manager Zhao snapped back to his senses and sighed.
“The situation is a bit complicated. If it were someone else, I wouldn’t bother explaining, but since you asked, Young Master, I’ll make it clearer…”
“In business, there are peak seasons and slow seasons. It really does depend on the market.”
“Its also true that other formation masters need to make a living too.”
“Some orders I have to reserve for other formation masters to maintain business relationships. If I cut off business with others, it’s equivalent to cutting off ties.”
“In business, it’s not about quantity, but longevity,” Manager Zhao said.
Mo Hua nodded, finding it reasonable.
Manager Zhao surely knew more than just him as an formation master. Some good orders would naturally go to those he was more familiar with.
People naturally had closer and more distant relationships, that’s just human nature.
“Another issue is…” Manager Zhao continued, “second-grade high-tier is actually a bit awkward…”
Mo Hua asked, “How so?”
Manager Zhao replied, “The problem lies in that ‘high-tier.’ Houtu City is a fifth-grade major city, so second-grade high-tier sits in an in-between position.”
“For Foundation Establishment cultivators, these formations are too expensive. Because they’re high-tier, they involve second-grade ‘spiritual power like mercury’ level knowledge, hard to draw, and costly. Some special second-grade high-tier formations can even rival the price of early third-grade formations.”
“But for Golden Core cultivators and above, second-grade high-tier is somewhat useless. With that amount of spirit stones, they’d just buy third-grade formations.”
“So that’s why I say it’s stuck in the middle. There’s demand, and it can fetch a price, but the volume isn’t high.”
“And when that demand is spread across the five major districts—east, west, south, north, and central—each with several commercial streets, markets, and merchant buildings, naturally the number of orders becomes limited…”
Mo Hua nodded, understanding a bit more.
“Of course…” Manager Zhao added, “that’s under normal circumstances. Like I said, it depends on the market. Every year is different.”
“For example?” Mo Hua asked.
“For example,” Manager Zhao said, “if a sect or clan suddenly launches a large cultivation project and urgently needs a batch of second-grade high-tier formations, then orders will come nonstop, you won’t be able to keep up.”
“Whenever such large cultivation projects happen, merchant pavilions like ours make a fortune.”
“In fact, many times, we rely on these projects to make our living…”
Thinking of those days when big projects brought in huge profits, Manager Zhao’s expression turned wistfull.
Mo Hua was tempted. “So when will there be a ‘big project’?”
Manager Zhao shook his head and sighed, “It’s something you can only hope for, not something you can seek out…”
If big projects happened every day, he wouldn’t just be a Manager, the entire Fortune Street in the eastern district would bear his surname.
“Oh…” Mo Hua said softly, then asked, “So does that mean third-grade orders are actually more common than second-grade high-tier ones?”
Manager Zhao replied, “I can only tell you, young master, that as things stand in my hands, Third-Grade orders are more difficult and have piled up quite a bit. As for Second-Grade high-tier orders…”
You’ve basically finished them all.
Mo Hua asked quietly, “Then… without a third-grade ring, is it really impossible to take on third-grade orders?”
Manager Zhao looked at him. “You can draw third-grade formations?”
Mo Hua shook his head in honesty. “Not yet. I just want to practice and challenge my limits.”
Manager Zhao waved his hands repeatedly. “Forget it, forget it…”
Using his orders for practice, what kind of logic was that?
“And it’s not that I don’t want to give them to you,” Manager Zhao sighed. “It’s not just about a few orders. The rules in the pavilion are fixed, no one can break them. With soo may eyes watching. If I break the rules, I won’t just lose my position… I’ll lose my livelihood.”
Mo Hua nodded slightly. “Alright then.”
Just then, a steward brought over a storage bag.
Manager Zhao handed it to Mo Hua. “Young Master Mo, would you like to count it?”
Mo Hua took it, swept it with his Divine-Sense, and finished counting in an instant. “It’s fine.” Then he tucked the storage bag into his sleeve.
Manager Zhao didn’t realize Mo Hua had counted everything in the blink of an eye, and thought he simply trusted him enough not to bother checking. He thought to himself:
This Young Master Mo truly is a magnanimous person.
Mo Hua said, “In that case, I’ll head back first. If there’s any way to earn spirit stones, Manager Zhao, don’t forget about me.”
Manager Zhao nodded repeatedly. “Of course, of course.”
Afterward, Mo Hua went to the market, spent some spirit stones to buy spiritual liquid for planting orange trees, as well as some candied hawthorn and pastries, then returned to the small blessed land.
Back at the small blessed land, he gave the spiritual liquid to Xiao Ju and also gave her a skewer of candied hawthorn.
Xiao Ju was overjoyed.
He took another stick and gave it to his senior sister.
Bai Zixi hesitated for a moment, but looking at Mo Hua’s clear, spring-like eyes, she ultimately accepted it.
The Senior Sister and Junior Brother then ate candied hawthorn while flipping through formation manuals, discussing formations.
…
But the problem of spirit stones remained severe, the gap was still enormous.
A mere hundred thousand or so spirit stones were far from enough to quench the thirst.
During this period, Mo Hua happened to have nothing else to do, so after a few days, he went back to the Fortune Pavilion again.
Since he wanted to earn Spirit stones, he had to be diligent and see if he could snag a few more orders.
Manager Zhao also tried his best to scrape together some orders for Mo Hua to draw.
But the problem was, Mo Hua drew too quickly.
The rate at which Manager Zhao generated orders simply couldn’t keep up with Mo Hua’s absurdly monstrous formation productivity.
And this was already with Mo Hua exercising great restraint, practically “slacking off.”
After several rounds like this, Manager Zhao could see it clearly that Mo Hua’s foundation in formations was truly solid, and he was genuinely short on spirit stones.
So much so that for the sake of spirit stones, he would push himself desperately, even to the point of depleting his Sea of Consciousness.
Seeing Mo Hua like this, Manager Zhao hesitated, as if he had something he wanted to say, but ultimately held it back.
But Mo Hua’s divine sense was sharp. He could sense that Manager Zhao seemed to be hiding something from him.
“Could it be that a big order has come in?”
“Is Manager Zhao about to feast?”
Mo Hua’s heart stirred slightly, and from then on, he visited Manager Zhao for tea every few days.
Opportunities always favor those with sharp eyes and preparation.
Finally, on this day, when Mo Hua came again to urge for orders, Manager Zhao was moved. He dismissed everyone around him and asked in a low voice:
“Young Master Mo, are you really that short on spirit stones?”
“Of course,” Mo Hua replied.
“What if… there’s a bit of risk?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Mo Hua replied.
Manager Zhao nodded. “Then, please follow me.”
With that, Manager Zhao stood up.
Mo Hua followed him to a secluded corner on the second floor, into a tightly sealed-off secret room surrounded by layers of screens and formations, airtight, not even a trace of sound or aura able to leak out.
This secret room seemed to exist precisely for discussing things that couldn’t see the light of day.
“This matter, I originally didn’t wish to tell you,” Manager Zhao said calmly, “but since Young Master Mo, you’re so short on spirit stones… I thought I’d ask…”
His gaze turned dark.
“Young Master… are you willing… to be buried?”
Mo Hua was stunned. “Buried?”