Chapter 1518: The Wealth Prohibition Order

Wealth Prohibition Order?

Mo Hua’s gaze gradually turned cold.

Prohibiting my wealth, preventing me from earning a single spirit stone?

Making it so I can’t feed the Taotie…

An inexplicably gloomy aura emanated from Mo Hua, like a starving ferocious beast slowly opening its eyes due to lack of food.

Manager Zhao didn’t know why, but he felt a sense of fear, not even daring to look directly at Mo Hua.

He even felt that this gentle Young Master Mo before him suddenly seemed as if he were about to devour people, sending an inexplicable chill down one’s spine.

He hurriedly said in a low voice: “Young Master Mo, this is the will of the great clans… I have no choice in the matter. Living in Houtu City, one must depend on others’ favor. Please don’t blame me… don’t blame me…”

Mo Hua gradually suppressed his temper, calming the turmoil within his body.

He slowly looked at Manager Zhao and asked: “This Wealth Prohibition Order… do the Earth Sect and the Four Great Clans all have a hand in it?”

Manager Zhao nodded and said solemnly: “The Wealth Prohibition Order is quite severe. Cutting off one’s wealth is no trivial matter, and it isn’t issued lightly.”

“Moreover, in the past, Wealth Prohibition Orders were only issued individually by the Earth Sect or one of the Four Great Clans, to sanction certain cultivators or factions, forbidding them from earning spirit stones in certain trades.”

“But you, Young Master Mo… are clearly different… Your case is far more serious.”

“Your Wealth Prohibition Order is a comprehensive ban—including the Earth Sect—covering all great clans, all merchant pavilions, and all trades… a total prohibition.”

Manager Zhao shook his head.

He actually didn’t know what Mo Hua had done to make the Earth Sect, the Four Great Clans, and other great families join forces to sanction him.

Logically speaking, merely courting a flower queen and competing with young clan masters over affection shouldn’t have warranted this.

Unless he had done something even more excessive, offending the Earth Sect and the major clans too deeply, so much so that the Earth Sect and the Four Great Clans all wanted to drive him out…

But these were matters beyond Manager Zhao’s consideration.

Manager Zhao could only smile bitterly. “Young Master Mo, I truly… am powerless to help.”

Mo Hua nodded.

He understood that Manager Zhao was, after all, just a manager. There were many things beyond his control.

Mo Hua then asked Manager Zhao: “Is it only my wealth that’s prohibited, or does it extend to those around me as well?”

Manager Zhao said: “As long as you don’t have financial dealings with other cultivators, it only prohibits you alone.”

Mo Hua asked: “What about Iron Mountain Tiger and the others.”

Manager Zhao said: “If they don’t do business with you, the Earth Sect won’t interfere. But if they follow you into Entering the Earth, then…”

Manager Zhao didn’t finish, but the meaning was clear. Mo Hua was now not only a ‘plague god’ but also a ‘god of poverty.’ Whoever came into contact with him would have their wealth cut off.

Whoever did business with him would be sanctioned by the Earth Sect.

Mo Hua’s gaze darkened slightly.

Manager Zhao added: “Iron Mountain Tiger did come by a few days ago, saying he hadn’t seen you in a while and wanted to go into Entering the Earth with you to do business.”

Mo Hua shook his head. “From now on, let them make their own way in the field.”

He had already shown them the path.

Iron Mountain Tiger and the others each had their own skills.

Entering the Earth was somewhat dangerous, but they should still be able to make a living.

If they continued to follow him, they might not earn a single spirit stone.

Manager Zhao sighed. “Very well.”

Mo Hua glanced around, cupped his fists, and said: “In that case, Manager Zhao, I’ll take my leave.”

Since there was no business to be done, there was no need to linger.

Manager Zhao took one last deep look at Mo Hua, feeling some regret and reluctance.

Once they parted now, who knew if there would ever be a chance to work together again.

The path of cultivation was long, and connections were shallow. Whether they would ever meet again was likely an unknown.

Manager Zhao thought for a moment, then sighed and said with genuine feeling: “Young Master Mo, some things are truly unavoidable. The arm cannot twist the thigh, and Fortune Pavilion cannot resist the greater tide. But if there’s ever an opportunity in the future, I still hope to do business with you again.”

“I wish you, Young Master, a bright future and abundant wealth.”

Mo Hua was slightly surprised.

He looked at Manager Zhao, his gaze softening a bit.

He was well-versed in cause and effect and knew clearly that his relationship with Manager Zhao was purely one of mutual benefit.

If there were no way to earn spirit stones, they would likely have no further dealings in the future, and might never cross paths again.

Those who befriend for profit will see their friendship fade when the profit is gone. This was the common way of the world, and the inevitability of cause and effect.

Mo Hua sighed inwardly, cupped his fists, and said: “Manager Zhao, take care.”

Manager Zhao returned the gesture. “Young Master Mo, take care.”

After that, they said no more.

Manager Zhao continued his business at Fortune Pavilion, while Mo Hua left and continued on his own path.

…

After leaving Fortune Pavilion, what weighed most on Mo Hua’s mind was the so-called ‘Wealth Prohibition Order.’

He wanted to know whether this ‘Wealth Prohibition Order’ would truly take effect.

Mo Hua first went to the Dao Practice Ground, hoping to spar a few rounds as usual and earn some prize money.

But the Dao Practice Ground refused him entry.

The steward he was familiar with wore a bitter smile, as if Mo Hua were some great Buddha—too afraid to welcome him, yet too afraid to offend him.

“Young Master Mo, perhaps… you could go elsewhere? Our shop is small, truly… we wouldn’t dare…”

The steward forced a smile, his words halting and evasive. Mo Hua understood and didn’t want to make things difficult for him, so he turned and went to HóngYùn Pavilion for a meal.

As it turned out, HóngYùn Pavilion also didn’t dare to serve him.

Mo Hua then went to the market, but no one there dared sell him anything either. Whoever sold him goods would have their stall confiscated.

Mo Hua went to a merchant pavilion dozens of li away.

The steward there was quite courteous at first, until Mo Hua gave his name.

Then his expression changed drastically, as if he had opened his doors in broad daylight to welcome in a malevolent ghost.

His face turned pale as he urged Mo Hua to leave.

He said the higher-ups had given orders that could not be disobeyed, and hoped the young master would understand and seek business elsewhere, they simply couldn’t afford to serve him…

Though it was a refusal of service, the words were quite tactful, even carrying a note of pleading.

These stewards had been in the business world for a long time and were shrewd operators, they understood perfectly well that anyone placed under the “Wealth Prohibition Order” was no ordinary figure.

Moreover, this was a comprehensive ban jointly enacted by the Earth Sect and the four great aristocratic clans.

The person targeted by such a ban was even more extraordinary.

The Wealth Prohibition Order appeared to be a targeted sanction. But thinking about it from another angle, it also meant that the Earth Sect and the four great clans probably had no other way to deal with this person.

They couldn’t kill him, couldn’t arrest him, so all they could do was cut off his financial avenues.

Otherwise, with the Earth Sect’s local emperor-like power, they could simply make this person disappear—why bother with a financial ban?

But regardless of the reason, anyone sanctioned by the Wealth Prohibition Order was someone these ordinary stewards dared not provoke.

So they could only smile ingratiatingly and find ways to see off this plague-bringer named Mo Hua.

Mo Hua made a full cycle, and the treatment was largely the same everywhere.

If he resorted to small tricks—anonymity, disguise, or changing his appearance—he could still earn spirit stones. But that would be meaningless.

First, in Houtu City, cultivators with disguised identities couldn’t enter the orthodox circles of the Earth Sect and the aristocratic clans, so there was no chance of making real money.

Second, if he were exposed, he would implicate the peddlers, stewards, or shopkeepers who did business with him. They would be dragged down and lose their livelihoods.

In a place like Houtu City, once these ordinary cultivators were implicated by him and incurred the resentment of the aristocratic clans, losing their jobs, it would be nearly impossible for them to find another way to make a living.

From this, it was clear that the Wealth Prohibition Order was genuine.

The Earth Sect and the aristocratic clans of Kun Province had truly sealed off his financial avenues to target him.

Mo Hua had no choice for the moment, so he could only return to Little Luan Mountain blessed land.

After returning to Little Luan Mountain, Mo Hua was weighed down with worries, and the hunger of the Taotie stirred faintly beneath the surface, agitating his mind.

It wasn’t until he entered the small courtyard and saw Little Senior Sister’s fair, snow-like figure that he found an anchor, and his Consciousness finally settled somewhat.

Bai Zixi, however, sensed that beneath his calm expression, his mood wasn’t quite right. She asked, “Junior Brother, what’s wrong?”

Mo Hua’s gaze darkened slightly, as if he wanted to speak but held back.

The matter of the Kun Province aristocratic clans was his own cause and effect, he couldn’t trouble Little Senior Sister with it, nor could he hinder her cultivation.

Mo Hua shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

Bai Zixi paused briefly, then said in a clear voice, “If anything happens, remember to tell Senior Sister.”

A warmth spread through Mo Hua’s heart.

He nodded slowly. “Mm, alright.”

Bai Zixi turned her head back and continued studying formations.

Her figure was elegant and graceful, like a jade statue, beautiful beyond compare.

Mo Hua’s mood gradually calmed.

His gaze was gentle as he watched Little Senior Sister’s figure, but as he watched, a practical question suddenly surfaced in his mind: “How much longer can I stay by Little Senior Sister’s side?”

Once the situation in Kun Province changed and great chaos erupted, no one could predict what upheavals would follow. And Little Senior Sister… she had her own destiny, her own Dao to pursue.

“Can I really… stay by Little Senior Sister’s side forever?”

The moment this thought arose, a tremendous turmoil surged within Mo Hua’s heart, and his Divine-Sense grew restless with unease.

He could only forcibly suppress the anxiety and, while the situation remained unchanged, steal a few more glances at Little Senior Sister.

Bai Zixi seemed to sense something.

She turned and found Mo Hua’s black-jade-like eyes gazing at her, lost in thought. Her heartstrings stirred faintly, then she furrowed her brows slightly: “Why do you keep staring at me?”

Mo Hua’s gaze was complex, and he said softly, “Nothing.”

In the depths of his eyes, there was a faint, barely perceptible trace of cherishing and lingering attachment.

…

The days that followed passed like flowing water.

But the Earth Sect’s Wealth Prohibition Order had completely disrupted Mo Hua’s plans.

He couldn’t earn spirit stones, couldn’t feed the Taotie Spirit, couldn’t break through to the Golden Core middle stage, his cultivation and realm were stuck once again.

Cutting off his wealth and obstructing his cultivation, these counted as great grievances. Mo Hua silently noted this debt in his heart.

Meanwhile, his mind was also churning with thoughts.

He couldn’t help but wonder if it was because some unknown Heavenly Secret had been stirred up, but Mo Hua always felt that recently, his cause and effect had been shifting abnormally, and the road ahead was becoming increasingly unknowable.

His original plans had also been thrown into complete disarray.

Perhaps this was the true feeling of an unsettled Heavenly Secret, of being swept along against one’s will, of intertwined cause and effect, of drifting like duckweed.

The people and events of the world changed in countless ways, and under the pull of cause and effect, most things never developed as expected.

In the following days, Mo Hua tried other methods to earn Spirit stones while circumventing the Wealth Prohibition Order. But without exception, they all failed.

The Earth Sect and the Four Great Clans, and even the aristocratic clans of all Kun Province, seemed to have suddenly joined forces, becoming as solid as one piece of iron.

All the powers pressed down like an impenetrable mountain, and the blockade against Mo Hua was total and all-encompassing.

And Mo Hua, being in Houtu City, was essentially earning Spirit stones on the turf of the Earth Sect and the aristocratic clans, making a living on their territory.

If the Earth Sect and the clans refused to give him a single bite to eat, then it seemed he truly had no Spirit stones to earn and no way around it.

This was Mo Hua—a disciple of a major sect, with a certain background, exceptional talent in Formations, and cultivation at the Early Golden Core Stage—and even he couldn’t earn a single Spirit stone.

If it had been an ordinary Rogue Cultivator who offended the aristocratic clans of Kun Province, it would have been almost equivalent to walking a dead-end road. Because all cultivation resources and channels of advancement were already controlled by the aristocratic clans.

If one wanted to rise, the only choice was to serve as a lackey to the Earth Sect and the clans, there was no other option.

This was the Cultivation World monopolized by the aristocratic clans, the rules set by the aristocratic clans, and also the taming and encirclement of Rogue Cultivators by the aristocratic clans.

If you refused to be a lackey, you wouldn’t get a single Spirit stone.

Mo Hua, caught in the midst of it and subjected to their sanctions, felt this truth even more deeply.

If even he had no good way out, then what chance did other cultivators have?

And just as Mo Hua had been blocked by the Wealth Prohibition Order for half a month, with not a single Spirit stone earned…

A letter of invitation was delivered to the minor blessed land of Little Luan Mountain.

The invitation was sent by the Wú Clan, stating that a young prodigy of the Wú Clan had finalized a marriage alliance, and they invited Mo Hua to attend the banquet and celebrate the joyous occasion together.

Mo Hua’s expression was cold.

What did the engagement of a Wú Clan prodigy have to do with him?

Moreover, after the Flower Queen Banquet and the Wealth Prohibition Order incident, Mo Hua could guess with his eyes closed that this banquet would be no good.

The Wú Clan’s engagement feast was merely a pretext, they would surely cause trouble for him at the banquet.

Mo Hua wasn’t afraid of trouble, but he also couldn’t be bothered to seek it out, so he ignored the invitation.

But after that, more and more invitations flew into the Little Luan Mountain blessed land like falling snow.

True Person Rong, for reasons unknown, didn’t intercept them but instead handed all of them to Mo Hua.

These invitations were all from major powers, invitations to the engagement banquets of their direct-line descendants, asking Mo Hua, the prodigy of Great Void Sect, to attend and celebrate.

The large-scale marriage alliance plan that the Earth Sect had been orchestrating seemed to finally be coming to a close.

The young masters and ladies named on the invitations were all of noble birth, all direct descendants of the Four Great Clans and the Earth Sect.

But Mo Hua ignored all these invitations as well.

He had never been interested in matters of marriage and engagement, and on top of that, having just had his source of income cut off, he held a grudge and had no desire to engage in false pleasantries with these young scions of Kun Province’s aristocratic clans.

But a few days later, another extraordinary invitation was delivered to the minor blessed land.

At the time, Mo Hua was sitting with Little Senior Sister in the elegant Bamboo Chamber, reading and studying Formations together.

Xiao Ju, chewing on an orange, walked in from outside and handed an invitation to Mo Hua, saying: “True Person Rong told me to give this to you.”

Mo Hua was somewhat surprised.

He took the invitation and looked at it, his expression shifting slightly.

This invitation was truly extraordinary, edged with yellow cong jade, woven from Earth Spirit Threads, inscribed with sunken gold seal script, warm and smooth like jade, stamped with the Earth Sect’s mark, and emitting a faint, pleasant fragrance.

This was clearly the kind of stationery that only high-ranking and important figures of the Earth Sect could use.

Mo Hua frowned, not yet having examined it closely.

Beside him, Bai Zixi saw the invitation and asked with some surprise, “You know Zhao Zhao?”

Mo Hua was momentarily stunned. “Zhao Zhao?”

Bai Zixi nodded. “Mm.”

“Don’t know her…” Mo Hua shook his head, then asked, “Who is Zhao Zhao?”

Bai Zixi said, “The youngest daughter of the Earth Sect’s Grand Sect Master. She is also… the Eldest Senior Sister of the Earth Sect.”