Immortality Through Array Formations

Taoist Calendar year 20,022, the tenth day of the ninth lunar month.

Tongxian City, outside the mountains of Tongxian Gate.

A ten-year-old Mo Hua, dressed in the simple robe of an Outer Gate disciple, squatted boringly behind a huge rock at the base of the mountain, holding a piece of grass root, busily drawing complex patterns on the ground.

By 6 A.M., disciples who were learning at the Sect continued to ascend the mountain, chatting and laughing in groups of twos and threes.

A chubby boy wearing the standard Outer Gate robe, adorned with expensive jade ornaments, and having a round face with small eyes, accompanied by two or three followers, found Mo Hua happily drawing something behind the rock.

The chubby boy looked around left and right and, seeing no instructor around, timidly called out:

"Mo Hua!"

Mo Hua looked up, revealing a youthfully handsome face, his eyes clear as if they held a pool of clear water.

The chubby boy lowered his voice and said, "Is it done?"

The ten-year-old Mo Hua patted his chest like a little adult, "Don't worry about my work," and then pulled out a few Formation Diagrams from the storage bag behind him. The diagrams, drawn on white paper with red ink, were handed to the chubby boy.

"Check if there's anything amiss."

The chubby boy solemnly received them, flipped open the copy, took a serious look, then frowned and said,

"I don't understand..."

Mo Hua patiently explained:

"The homework assigned by the instructor was the basic Formation Patterns of the Five Elements Formation. I drew them for you and purposely made six mistakes to prevent the instructor from realizing that these weren't drawn by you..."

"Six mistakes... isn't that a bit too many?"

Mo Hua silently stared at him.

Realizing his mistake, the chubby boy reflected,

"One shouldn't be too greedy. It's already good enough that I can submit the homework assigned by the instructor. Doing it too well might arouse suspicion. If the instructor finds out and tells my father, he's sure to beat me up badly. It would be a loss not worth the gain..."

Mo Hua nodded and said, "Well thought, Young Master An! You figured it out so quickly!"

The chubby boy stuffed two Spirit Stones into Mo Hua's hand, "Brother Mo, you really know me well, acknowledging my intelligence! Here are the Spirit Stones for you. Next time we get a Formation homework, I'll come to you again!"

After saying this, he tucked the Formation Diagram into his chest and scurried up the mountain.

Mo Hua carefully stored away the two Spirit Stones, picked up a new piece of grass root, and continued drawing on the ground.

A moment later, another slim young master arrived, waving a golden paper fan, his face sharp, adorned with even more jade pendants.

Mo Hua handed him a Formation Diagram. The slim young master glanced at it and signaled his servant. The servant stepped forward, took the diagram, and handed two Spirit Stones to Mo Hua.

The slim young master, holding the diagram, still didn't leave and suddenly snapped his fan shut, arrogantly saying, "This young master is also extremely skilled in formations, but I just don't have the time for these basic formations, hence I asked you to ghostwrite."

Mo Hua, not bothering to engage, picked up his grass root and continued drawing on the ground.

The slim young master felt annoyed and scoffed, "I heard within the Qi Refinement cultivators of Tongxian Gate, you draw the best formations. I wonder how you compare to me; we should have a contest someday?"

Mo Hua thought to himself, you're already having me do your formation homework, so what does that say about your level?

However, adhering to the principle of harmony brings wealth, Mo Hua still raised his head and flattered him with kind words:

"Of course, young master's proficiency in formations is far superior. The Qian Family, being the leading family in Tongxian City, has a heritage of formations unmatched by other cultivators."

The slim young master's expression slightly brightened, then he asked, "So, tell me, among the Qi Refinement cultivators at Tongxian Gate, is there anyone whose skills in formations can surpass mine?"

"There are indeed some..."

The slim young master displeasedly asked, "Who are they?"

"Like me..." Of course, Mo Hua wouldn't foolishly say that out loud.

"There are quite a few, too many to count in a moment."

The slim young master was visibly upset.

"This is a good thing!" Mo Hua lied blatantly.

The slim young master scoffed, "People whose families aren't as good as mine, who don't have as many Spirit Stones as I do, but whose skills in formations surpass mine, there are many such people? Are you trying to say that I'm slow-witted and inferior to others? How is that a good thing?"

Mo Hua explained, "The cultivators of Tongxian City, no matter how talented or skilled they learn to be, ultimately they still end up working in the Qian Family's Myriad Treasure Building, crafting artifacts, refining pills, drawing formations for your family..."

"Think about it; you're only in the Qi Refinement stage, yet you have Foundation Establishment cultivators working for you. You're only a First Grade Formation Master, yet you have Second Grade Formation Masters at your beck and call. How prestigious is that! The more capable your subordinates are, the greater your own abilities appear!"

Young Master Qian was momentarily stunned, then he realized and exclaimed, "That does make some sense!"

"Got it now?"

Young Master Qian nodded and, looking down at the multitude of cultivators below, tilted his head higher:

"Exactly! No matter how talented or hardworking you are, in the end, aren't you all just serving my Qian Family like oxen and horses?"

With a mean face, Young Master Qian strutted off chest out, high-headed.

After tricking Young Master Qian away, Mo Hua continued practicing formations on the ground using grass roots.

Soon, a few wealthy cultivators came over. Money and goods exchanged hands, and they bought several formation diagrams from Mo Hua using spirit stones. Once Mo Hua had completed selling the handwritten formation diagrams, he possessed twelve spirit stones.

Twelve spirit stones were already quite a sum for a loose cultivator, but for cultivation, it was still far from enough.

Mo Hua sighed deeply, his youthful face marked by a tinge of helplessness.

For low-level cultivators, cultivation was a hopeless endeavor...

In the first year of the Taoist Calendar, over twenty thousand years ago, the largest power in the Tao Cultivation World, the Taoist Court, unified the Nine State, enfeoffing families and establishing Sects with a unified ranking system and standardizing grades for different fields in cultivation.

The Taoist Court also issued the Taoist Law, restricting cultivators from reckless killing, plundering, and indiscriminate replenishing from others.

Thanks to this, the Cultivation World developed, enjoyed peace for over twenty thousand years, thrived extensively, with its cultivators beyond count.

However, while the Taoist Court flourished splendidly and families indulged in glory, and Sects dominated locally,

Only the low-level loose cultivators had no one to rely on, lived in hardship, and had no hope in cultivation.

Over the span of twenty thousand years in the Cultivation World, those without Spiritual Roots were naturally eliminated, leaving behind those with Spiritual Roots, capable of pursuing cultivation. However, the more cultivators there were, the more the spiritual energy was consumed, and the spiritual energy between heaven and earth was nearly depleted.

Today, if cultivators want to pursue cultivation, they need not only heritage but also spirit stones.

However, large families occupied spiritual mines, leaving little for bottom-level loose cultivators; Great Sects monopolized heritage, leaving ordinary loose cultivators with no avenues for cultivation.

In Tongxian City, the vast majority of loose cultivators possess neither heritage nor sufficient spirit stones. Throughout their lives, they remain mere Qi Refining Realm cultivators.

Being in the Qi Refining Realm is to be but a humble ant under the vast Heavenly Dao.

And Mo Hua was one of these countless ants.

And very possibly, for his entire life!

A hint of bitterness appeared on Mo Hua's youthful face.

The Heavenly Dao might be equal, but cultivation certainly is not...

Mo Hua, a second-level Qi Refinement Realm loose cultivator, was born into a Qi Refinement Realm cultivator family, with both parents in the same realm.

His father, Mo Shan, hunted monster beasts for a living, constantly battling with beast wounds all over his body. His mother worked in the Food Building, her body afflicted by the furnace's fire Qi, often suffering from lung pains and a dry cough.

Despite their frugality, all the spirit stones his parents had saved were just so Mo Hua could practice in the Outer Gate of Tongxian Gate.

But no matter how hard Mo Hua cultivated, his average spiritual roots—though slightly better than those of common folk—predetermined his mediocrity among the myriad of geniuses in the cultivation world.

No matter how much more he cultivated, he would likely remain just a Qi Refinement Realm cultivator.

With the harsh family conditions and a lack of spirit stones, Mo Hua could only cultivate to the sixth level of Qi Refinement like any other disciple and then leave the Sect to find a trade to make a living.

But Mo Hua was naturally frail.

The traditional means of sustenance for Qi Refinement cultivators, like Artifact Refining and Monster Hunting, generally require robust body cultivators. The innately frail Mo Hua might not even manage to secure a job to scrape a living.

Should he marry and have children in the future, the burden would increase, and any spirit stones he had would be used to support his family.

Without spirit stones for cultivation, Mo Hua's cultivation level would forever stagnate, and he would remain a Qi Refinement cultivator for his entire life.

Like all the impoverished loose cultivators in Tongxian City.

Like the countless bottom-level cultivators in the Cultivation World.

Forever just a Qi Refinement cultivator!

Ten-year-old Mo Hua sighed, adjusted his mindset, and then went to the Sect to attend class. After practicing for a day, Mo Hua returned to the Disciple's Residence, read some Tao Cultivation Canons, and then lay down in bed by 1 p.m.

As Mo Hua closed his eyes, a broken stele appeared in his Sea of Consciousness.

The stele bore no writings, but it seemed from the moment Mo Hua first saw it, he knew the stele's name:

Taoist Stele!