Chapter 406: Nanyue City
And so, they traveled, drew formations, beat up bandits, fed Dabai, and along the way, observed the local customs and scenery.
Several months later, Mo Hua and his group finally arrived at Nanyue City.
Nanyue City was larger than Tōngxiān City.
From a distant peak outside the city, Mo Hua estimated roughly that Nanyue City was about twice the size of Tōngxiān City.
The city walls were taller, but simpler.
The formations on them weren’t particularly advanced either.
Of course, this was from Mo Hua’s perspective.
The walls, aged and weathered, were cracked and mottled in places.
Before entering, each person had to pay a city-entry fee of one spirit stone.
Not all Immortal Cities charged an entry fee.
Tōngxiān City did not.
Most cities along the way didn’t either.
And even when they did, it usually wasn’t this much.
One spirit stone wasn’t a small amount for ordinary wandering cultivators.
Especially in this Small Wilderness Prefecture, which seemed poorer than most other places.
Mister Zhuang, Old Kui, and the three junior disciples—five in total—traveled together.
Mo Hua paid five spirit stones.
Once the guards collected the stones, they were allowed to pass.
They didn’t dare make things difficult for Mo Hua.
Dabai, tall and imposing, stood right next to him.
Cultivators who could afford such a spirit steed and carriage were not to be offended.
Mo Hua and the others passed through the city gate and entered Nanyue City.
Inside, the city was even larger, with wider streets.
The stone streets, however, were pitted from weathering and covered in dust. Most passing cultivators wore humble clothing and carried weathered expressions.
“Master, where are we going?”
Mo Hua asked, sitting atop Dabai.
“Let’s first find an inn to stay at.”
“All right.”
Mo Hua asked a few cultivators for directions, then turned left and right along the streets, eventually arriving at a street corner.
There was an inn at the corner with an old signboard that read: “Nanyue Inn.”
“Nanyue”—just one character different from the city’s name, Nanyue.
The inn was neither luxurious nor cramped, but clean and orderly.
Mo Hua and the others decided to stay at the Nanyue Inn.
After registering, a young attendant served tea.
Mo Hua said,
“Please feed Dabai for me!”
“All right!”
The attendant called out and then asked, “Young master, what type of fodder would you like?”
“Isn’t grass just grass?” Mo Hua asked.
“No, there are three grades: regular, superior, and finest. The prices differ, the quality differs, but each is worth it,” the attendant explained fluently.
Mo Hua inquired about the price, found even the finest wasn’t expensive, and said generously,
“Give him the best!”
Small Wilderness Prefecture was somewhat desolate, and the long journey had left Dabai poorly fed and thin.
Though still tall and strong-looking, Mo Hua knew Dabai had lost weight.
“All right!”
The attendant happily went to fetch the grass.
Mo Hua patted Dabai, saying, “Good things are coming, eat a lot!”
Dabai nodded and affectionately licked Mo Hua’s face with his tongue.
Mo Hua smiled warmly.
After preparing a meal for Dabai, it was his turn to eat.
The inn served food and wine.
Mister Zhuang and the others had already taken their seats.
Seeing Mo Hua, Bai Zisheng looked both envious and puzzled:
“Why is Dabai so close to you?”
Mo Hua replied confidently,
“Because I feed him!”
Bai Zisheng shook his head. “That’s not it.”
Not everyone Dabai was fed by would be accepted so readily.
When he fed Dabai, the horse had seemed slightly disdainful.
Mo Hua asked, “Was it because your food was bad, so Dabai disliked it?”
Bai Zisheng frowned. “It’s all grass. How could it be different?”
“Of course it’s different. Some grass is tasty, some is not.”
Bai Zisheng frowned. “I’m not a horse, how would I know what’s good and what’s bad?”
Then, shocked, he stared at Mo Hua. “You didn’t taste it yourself before feeding Dabai, did you?”
Mo Hua cast him a slightly disdainful glance. “I’m not you. How could I be that foolish?”
“I’m your senior brother, and you just called me foolish?”
“Who said a senior brother can’t be foolish?”
…
The two continued their bickering.
Bai Zisheng remained curious and asked again:
“How do you even know which grass is good and which is bad?”
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then whispered,
“I’m only telling you because you’re my senior brother…”
“Uh-huh!” Bai Zisheng nodded repeatedly.
Mo Hua then explained:
“There’s a technique to choosing grass.”
“Grass on the ground mostly looks the same to the eye…”
“But if you use Divine Sense, each blade of grass has a different ‘aura.’”
“Some grass is pale blue—rich in spiritual energy; some is tender green—fresh and soft; some is dark green—older; some is red—slightly corrupt; and some are purple or black—poisonous…”
“When feeding Dabai, choose tender grass. Even dark green grass shouldn’t be too old, and if it has spiritual energy, that’s even better…”
He glanced lightly at Bai Zisheng:
“The grass you chose looked similar, but the aura was red and green, some even poisonous. No wonder Dabai disliked it.”
Bai Zisheng’s eyes widened.
Even picking grass could involve so much knowledge.
“How did you know this?” he asked.
Mo Hua looked puzzled. “How else would you know? Just look and scan with Divine Sense. That’s all.”
Bai Zisheng’s expression became complex.
“Alright… I’ve been outsmarted by my junior brother again…”
But then he frowned.
Was that right?
He had scanned with Divine Sense himself, yet he hadn’t seen the colors Mo Hua described…
Could it be his Divine Sense wasn’t strong enough?
Bai Zisheng fretted over grass selection, while Mo Hua enjoyed his meal.
After working hard all day, he was quite hungry.
Mid-meal, Mo Hua remembered something and asked Mister Zhuang:
“Master, can I go find Instructor Yan?”
Mister Zhuang sipped his wine lightly and nodded, “You may.”
He then instructed, “Zisheng and Zixi will accompany you.”
“Okay,” Mo Hua nodded.
Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi also nodded, “Yes, Master.”
After finishing their meal, Mister Zhuang rested at the inn, while Old Kui watched over the carriage.
Mo Hua, accompanied by Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi, wandered through Nanyue City, looking for Instructor Yan.
Mo Hua approached it from a formation master’s perspective.
Instructor Yan was a formation master, so upon arriving in Nanyue City, he should have contact with other formation masters.
Mo Hua asked the attendant and learned the locations of several well-known formation masters’ residences.
Some were first-grade masters by formal recognition.
Others could draw first-grade nine-pattern formations but hadn’t crossed the formal threshold, essentially “pseudo first-grade” masters.
Mo Hua marked their residences on the city map and visited them one by one.
The threshold for formation masters was high.
It wasn’t just talent; the residences themselves were a barrier.
Mo Hua and the three young disciples couldn’t just walk in.
Though they appeared distinguished, they were young and too green.
The disciples at the gates politely blocked them:
“The master is receiving distinguished guests, not convenient for interruptions.”
Mo Hua asked, “When will he be finished?”
“That’s hard to say…” the gate disciple hesitated.
There were so many queued to meet the master, it could take over a month.
Besides, it wasn’t guaranteed the master would meet three young disciples at all.
The gate disciple assumed Mo Hua and his group were there to seek apprenticeship, which was common.
So he said politely: “Three young friends, please return for now.”
Mo Hua had no choice but to reveal his Celestial Pivot Ring, proving he was genuinely a first-grade formation master.
The moment he displayed it, the gate disciple trembled, his voice shaking:
“You… you…”
He stammered, unsure what to say.
A first-grade master barely ten years old?
The disciple suspected it was fake but dared not bet against it.
As a formation apprentice, he could block someone if fake without risk.
But if it were real, offending a first-grade master could get him fired in an instant…
Even faking it with a Celestial Pivot Ring indicated insider knowledge.
So he respectfully said:
“Young master, please wait here. I will report inside.”
In less than the time of a cup of tea, a formation master appeared, dressed elegantly with half-white hair and beard, looking like the residence owner, smiling:
“Which young friend is a first-grade formation master?”
Mo Hua showed the Celestial Pivot Ring again.
The master looked at tiny Mo Hua, then at the oversized ring on his thumb, then back and forth… clearly stunned.
He had heard about a young first-grade master visiting, naturally skeptical.
Even seeing the ring in person, he was still half in doubt.
Only after inviting Mo Hua inside, watching him draw a first-grade formation effortlessly, and exchanging some formation knowledge, did he become convinced.
His attitude toward Mo Hua became extremely polite, even respectful.
Learning has no precedence; the accomplished are honored.
This young master truly possessed the skill of a first-grade formation master.