Chapter 1420: What Do You Want
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Chapter 1418: What Do You Want
Mo Hua temporarily set the matter aside and returned to the Little Luan Mountain Blessed Land.
Gazing at the beautiful rosy clouds, the elegant clear cries of cranes and luan birds, and the hidden paradise of this minor blessed land before him, Mo Hua—who had just experienced a round of deceit and trickery—felt his body and mind relax, as if he had returned “home.”
However, as soon as he entered, before he had taken more than a couple of steps, a figure suddenly flashed before his eyes…. True Person Rong appeared.
“True Person Rong,” Mo Hua greeted respectfully with a bow.
True Person Rong stared at Mo Hua for a moment, then suddenly frowned and asked, “Where have you been? You’re carrying a trace the aura of death?”
Mo Hua was slightly taken aback, thinking to himself that True Person Rong truly lived up to her reputation as a Feathered Ascension expert, with eyes as sharp as torches.
Grateful for True Person Rong’s kindness in taking him in, he didn’t hide anything and simply pointed downward. “Underground.”
True Person Rong immediately understood what Mo Hua meant, her forehead twitched slightly as she thought: These young people nowadays were truly bold and fearless, daring to go anywhere without restraint. Didn’t he fear…
True Person Rong’s gaze grew more focused as she asked, “Did you encounter anything?”
Mo Hua’s thoughts stirred, but he shook his head.
True Person Rong didn’t press further. Instead, she tossed a jade bottle to Mo Hua: “This is Cleansing Bath Powder. Go wash up and cleanse the yin qi and death qi from underground…”
After saying this, True Person Rong added, “Those who frequently venture underground often carry Deathly Filth Qi on them. Since it originates from their own body, they grow accustomed to its scent over time. Be careful yourself, wash diligently, and don’t let too much Deathly Filth Qi cling to you…”
Otherwise, it could affect your temperament and twist your nature into something ferocious…
Out of politeness, True Person Rong didn’t voice this latter half aloud.
Mo Hua nodded. “Understood.”
True-Person Rong silently glanced at him once more before turning and leaving.
Mo Hua then returned alone to his guest room. Using formations, he heated water and added some herbs along with the Cleansing Bath Powder True-Person Rong had given him.
He had already bathed and burned incense to purify himself at the Fortune Pavilion.
But Manager Zhao’s methods were certainly no match for True Person Rong’s, and it truly wasn’t appropriate to bring the death qi into the minor blessed land.
Mo Hua soaked in the pool for nearly a full hour and a half, making sure to wash away all the death qi and filth qi clinging to his body. Only then did he change into clean clothes and go to find his Little Senior Sister.
In the small courtyard, Bai Zixi was reading an alchemy manual while Xiao Ju brewed tea nearby.
Upon seeing Mo Hua, Bai Zixi’s gaze trembled slightly.
Xiao Ju, on the other hand, let out a huge sigh of relief. “I thought you weren’t coming back…”
Over the past few days, Xiao Ju had been filled with worry, her mind conjuring up numerous scenarios of the delicate Mo Hua venturing out alone on business, only to be “robbed and murdered” or “killed for his wealth.”
Now that she saw Mo Hua return safe and sound, the heavy stone in her heart finally settled.
Mo Hua smiled and laid out a pile of things he had bought on the small table—food, drinks, toys and little trinkets, all included.
Seeing this, Xiao Ju was both surprised and delighted, exclaiming. “Mo Hua, you’ve struck it rich again!”
“Just a small profit,” Mo Hua replied.
Xiao Ju noticed there were quite a few oranges on the table. Though they couldn’t compare to the ones she had been longing for, they were still of excellent quality and looked very fresh. She nearly drooled at the sight.
Mo Hua chuckled. “Take them all, and keep them safe.”
Xiao Ju glanced at Mo Hua, then at Bai Zixi.
Bai Zixi gave a slight nod. “Go ahead.”
Only then did Xiao Ju beam with joy, hugging the oranges and snacks as she ran back to her room to stash them away.
Now, only Mo Hua and Bai Zixi remained in the courtyard.
Mo Hua gazed at Bai Zixi, somewhat lost in thought.
Bai Zixi seemed to sense something unusual in Mo Hua’s expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Mo Hua thought for a moment before asking, “Little Senior Sister, I have something. Do you want it?”
Bai Zixi corrected him, “Call me Senior Sister.”
“Oh,” Mo Hua nodded and called out again, “Senior Sister…”
Bai Zixi asked, “What is it?”
Mo Hua glanced around, seeing that Xiao Ju wasn’t there, True Person Rong’s Divine-Sense wasn’t present, and the minor blessed land was sealed with no one nearby.
He lowered his voice and said: “Senior Sister, give me your hand.”
Bai Zixi was slightly taken aback, but seeing Mo Hua’s mysterious demeanor, her heart stirred slightly, and she extended a palm as pure and white as ice and snow.
Mo Hua quietly took out three warm, smooth stones and placed them in his her palm.
Bai Zixi glanced at them, her eyes flickering as she quickly realized what they were. A trace of astonishment flashed in her clear, beautiful eyes.
“Heavenly Crystals?”
She looked at Mo Hua and whispered, “Did you rob and kill someone?”
Mo Hua froze, emphasizing, “I am a proper cultivator…”
Bai Zixi replied, “A proper cultivator, going out on one trip… can earn three Heavenly Crystals at once?”
Mo Hua sighed, “I relied on formations and did proper work, but others weren’t so proper, engaging in scheming and plotting. That’s not my fault… Besides, it was also good luck. The most valuable things from this trip were these three Heavenly Crystals…”
“Oh…” Bai Zixi responded.
Mo Hua looked at Bai Zixi and said, “That’s not important. Senior Sister, do you need these Heavenly Crystals?”
After all, Mo Hua had fallen into this place in Kun Province and owed his little senior sister a great debt of gratitude. Now that he had obtained something good, he naturally wanted to share it with her.
Bai Zixi looked at the three Heavenly Crystals in her hand, then at Mo Hua. Her lips pressed together slightly, but she still shook her head.
“I don’t need them for now…”
She gently grasped Mo Hua’s hand and placed the three Heavenly Crystals back into his palm, saying, “These are valuable. Keep them safe. You’ll need them when you’re nearing Feathered Ascension.”
Mo Hua pondered for a moment and found that reasonable.
After all, Little Senior Sister was from the Bai Clan—a direct descendant and prodigy of a great clan. She even possessed a Longevity Talisman.
Though Heavenly Crystals were precious, with her background, she could certainly obtain them if she truly wanted.
Mo Hua put the three Heavenly Crystals away and then asked, “Senior Sister, what do you want then?”
Upon hearing this, Bai Zixi was momentarily stunned. She looked quietly at Mo Hua’s face, then into his eyes.
Seeing his senior sister staring at him without speaking, Mo Hua thought she hadn’t decided yet and said: “Senior Sister, if there’s anything you want, just tell me, and I’ll get it for you.”
Bai Zixi’s gaze trembled slightly, and she softly replied, “Mm…”
Not long after, Xiao Ju came trotting back cheerfully, having hidden the oranges. She happily resumed brewing tea for Bai Zixi. Once it was ready, she poured a cup for Bai Zixi and generously served one for Mo Hua as well, as a small reward.
After finishing the tea, as the sky gradually darkened, Mo Hua bid farewell to his Senior Sister and returned to his guest room.
…
Inside the guest room, Mo Hua roughly sorted through the gains from this trip in his storage bag.
Old Mo and Da Shan had some items related to tomb raiding, which Mo Hua intentionally kept aside, planning to study them when he had time.
Additionally, there was the Scholar’s mechanism diagrams…
Though Mo Hua’s practical skills in artifact forging were lacking, his theoretical knowledge was solid. He was also quite interested in mechanisms, so he could study those as well.
Of course, the most important thing was still formations.
From this trip, Mo Hua had obtained two types of items related to unknown formations that he could study.
First, there was the bone fragment found inside the tomb master’s abdomen.
On the bone fragment was a strange Formation Pattern, which didn’t appear particularly sophisticated, yet it was impossible to determine its school of origin, almost as if it had been drawn randomly.
Mo Hua took out the bone fragment again and studied it for a while. He even copied the pattern onto paper and personally traced it over a dozen times. Yet his mind remained completely blank… there wasn’t the slightest spark of insight regarding formations.
It was truly bizarre.
Who exactly was that tomb master from the Earth Sect? Why had they been disemboweled? And what exactly did the Formation Pattern inside their abdomen signify…
These interconnected truths needed to be figured out eventually.
After pondering for a while, Mo Hua put away the bone fragment and took out another Jade Slip.
This Jade Slip contained the Earth-Ground Formation Patterns Mo Hua had copied from the underground tomb.
It was an incomplete Earth-Ground Composite Formation.
Although it was fragmented, Mo Hua could still parse out at least three individual single Formations belonging to the same Earth-Ground Formation system from it. Each of these Single Formations had different functions and worked together, forming a cohesive system.
Unfortunately, Mo Hua didn’t know what kind of Earth-Ground Composite Formation it was.
Nor did he know, within the Earth Sect’s inheritance, which categories these Single Formations belonged to or what their functions were.
It wasn’t convenient for him to ask others either—after all, strictly speaking, these Earth-Ground Formations were essentially “secretly learned.”
Of course, for a Formation Master, it couldn’t be called “stealing.”
A Formation Master studying formations and seeking the Great Dao was a natural and righteous pursuit. If you could learn it secretly, that was your own ability.
Mo Hua had always believed that formations should be made available for everyone to learn, widely passed down to all under heaven, so that everyone could become a Formation Master and everyone could pursue the Dao.
Once knowledge becomes monopolized, it would inevitably decay.
Only through continuous transmission can it thrive endlessly.
But this was merely his own wishful thinking. The Earth Sect might not see it that way.
From what he could tell, the Earth Sect’s “sectarian” views of exclusivity were likely extremely deep-seated.
Throughout the Houtu City, they strictly controlled and monopolized all earth-element formations of the Third-Grade and above.
Not to mention their more profound and exclusive Earth-Ground Formation legacy.
If the Earth Sect were to find out that he had accidentally trespassed into the tomb of one of their inheritors, and had “incidentally” seen their Earth-Ground Formation diagrams, and just happened to memorize them… they certainly wouldn’t let the matter rest.
Therefore, things like Earth-Ground Formations had to be learned and used in secret, without the Earth Sect’s knowledge.
It was just that the “quantity” of these Earth-Ground Formations was still far too little.
The three Earth-Ground Formations parsed from the incomplete composite formation were enough to keep Mo Hua occupied for a while, but they were nowhere near enough to satisfy his appetite.
He still needed to find a way to obtain more Earth-Ground Formations to study them systematically…
But opportunities to learn from the Earth Sect were almost nonexistent.
At present, the only possible channel was through Manager Zhao as a middleman, to go tomb raiding again and try his luck, hoping to stumble upon an Earth Sect tomb.
Others raided tombs for wealth. Mo Hua raided tombs primarily to steal formations.
Of course, that was something for later.
He would have to wait until Manager Zhao finished handling and liquidating the current “spoils” before there might be another opportunity to go underground.
Manager Zhao was a crucial figure.
Mo Hua thought silently to himself: “I’ve already given him a share of a Heavenly Crystal. Next time there’s such an opportunity, he probably won’t leave me out…”
“I just wonder what else might be buried in the underground tombs of Kun Province…”
Corpse Dissolution, tomb owners with their bellies slit open, Corpse Transformation, meaningless Formation Patterns, Earth-Ground Formations, the Earth Sect…
Kun Province, on the surface, was flourishing and prosperous, but beneath the unseen darkness underground, who knew how many secrets were still buried…
…
In the days that followed, Mo Hua began studying the Earth-Ground Formations of the Earth Sect.
At the same time, after setting aside several hundred thousand Spirit stones for emergencies, he fed the remaining one million Spirit stones to his Spiritual Skeleton.
This way, his second Taotie Spiritual Skeleton, the Hand Taiyin Heart Meridian, was more than halfway nurtured.
With a bit more earnings, it would likely be fully filled.
Once he had two Taotie spiritual skeletons supporting him, the total circulation capacity of his spiritual power would see a significant increase.
Even if he had formed an Inferior-Grade Golden Core, he wouldn’t be at too much of a disadvantage in terms of spiritual power.
Mo Hua was eager to find an opportunity to spar with someone, to practice his spells, and test the effects of his Spiritual Skeleton.
Unfortunately, there was simply no opportunity at the moment.
He wasn’t the type to stir up trouble for no reason, so he couldn’t just go pick a fight with someone out of nowhere.
Having a Spiritual Skeleton but no chance to use it left Mo Hua feeling somewhat empty.
As for the remaining three Heavenly Crystals, he decided to keep them for now.
The Primordial Heaven Spiritual Qi within the Heavenly Crystals seemed related to Feathered Ascension and the Great Heavenly Cycle. Since he was only at the early Golden Core stage, using the Heavenly Crystals now would be a waste.
(TN: Golden Core and bellow = Minor Heavenly Cycle. Feathered Ascension and above = Great Heavenly Cycle)
His little senior sister had also advised him to save them until he was close to breaking through to Feathered Ascension, so Mo Hua wisely stored them away for later use when the opportunity arose.
…
Two more days passed.
On this day, after studying Earth-Ground Formations for a while, Mo Hua found himself with some free time and headed to the small courtyard to ask his little senior sister some questions about Third-Grade formations.
But before he even entered the courtyard, Mo Hua’s Divine Sense suddenly stirred, sensing the presence of an outsider.
He also heard someone speaking to Xiao Ju… it was a man’s voice:
“…These are all for you. Eat whatever you like. Next time I’ll buy more for you.”
“I originally wanted to buy some oranges for you, but after spending a long time picking out the best ones, they were snatched away by an arrogant, sinister and malicious young master from a major sect.”
Xiao Ju fumed, “How dare he steal my oranges… What a bad person… But it’s fine, Lady Xiao Ju has oranges to eat now…”
After speaking, Xiao Ju seemed to take out an orange and began munching on it.
The air fell silent for a moment.
After a pause, the man said with some confusion: “That orange… why does it look oddly familiar to me?”
Just as he was speaking, Mo Hua stepped into the courtyard.
The man looked up, stared at Mo Hua for a moment, and then exclaimed in shock, “Why are you here?!”
Mo Hua gave him a strange look and said, “I was about to ask the same thing. Why are you here?”
This man was none other than the boastful white-robed cultivator at the peak of the Golden Core stage whom Mo Hua had encountered in the market some time ago.
Xiao Ju, her mouth stuffed with orange, looked at Mo Hua and then at the white-robed cultivator before mumbling: “You two know each other?”
The white-robed cultivator sneered sarcastically, “Mo Hua, the crown prince of the Great Void Sect, the old ancestor’s beloved son, dual champion in formations, first place in sword tournament…”
Mo Hua was a bit surprised. “You know that much about me?”
The white-robed cultivator seemed to recall some past “grudges,” his expression turning cold as he questioned Mo Hua: “You being in Kun Province is understandable, but why are you appearing in this Little Luan Mountain Blessed Land? This is not a place you can stay.”
Mo Hua glanced at him, “And you can stay?”
The white-robed cultivator sneered. “I’m not the same as you. I came to Little Luan Mountain Blessed Land on proper business.”
Mo Hua asked, “What business?”
The white-robed cultivator said, “I came to visit a senior from my clan.”
“A senior from your clan?” Mo Hua was startled, “True Person Rong?”
The white-robed cultivator sneered, “How could True Person Rong possibly be my senior…”
Mo Hua froze. If it wasn’t True Person Rong, then could it be…
Just as they were speaking, a graceful, peerlessly beautiful white figure inside the room seemed to hear the commotion and slowly walked out.
Seeing the people in the courtyard—especially the white-robed cultivator—Bai Zixi was somewhat surprised and said: “Why have you come?”
With Mo Hua present, the white-robed cultivator was clearly extremely unwilling.
But bound by clan rules and etiquette, he could only brace himself, bowing deeply and saluting Bai Zixi with cupped hands, whispering: “I greet… Grand Aunt…”
Mo Hua’s expression instantly became extremely colorful.