Chapter 219: New Year's Gifts
Chapter 219: New Year's Gifts
Several days before the New Year festival, Mo Hua paid an early morning visit to Mr. Zhuang, bearing New Year's gifts prepared by Liu Ruhua herself.
Knowing that spiritual stones and artifacts would be unnecessary for Mr. Zhuang, Liu Ruhua spent a considerable amount of time contemplating an appropriate gift. Finally, she decided to follow tradition and prepared an assortment of delectable dishes as a token of her appreciation.
Liu Ruhua had started her preparations ten days in advance, working tirelessly until everything was ready. The gifts included an array of cured meats from various magical beasts—cows, sheep, pigs, and dogs—each with unique flavors and cuts. There were also colorful cakes made from different grains, as well as finely brewed wines infused with osmanthus, peach blossoms, and wild mountain fruits.
Even someone as accustomed to fine dining as Mr. Zhuang was impressed by the spread.
"That's quite a lot," he remarked. "How can one possibly finish all of this?"
Nonetheless, he eagerly began sampling each dish, occasionally furrowing his brows in curiosity. "What kind of meat is this? I've never tasted anything like it before..." At other times, he would nod in appreciation, "This one has a delightful flavor."
Mo Hua kept him company, chatting amiably.
She explained the types of magical beasts the meats came from, the spices used, and the cooking methods, whether slow-cooked over a low flame or grilled quickly over a high heat.
From time to time, she would ask him about minor issues regarding formations or share amusing tales from the city that she had heard from An Xiaofu.
An Xiaofu, now the assistant manager of Grand Harmony Restaurant, interacted with customers daily and had an ear for gossip. In his free time, he would regale Mo Hua with these stories, often with exaggerated details.
Mo Hua found them entertaining and shared them with Mr. Zhuang, who listened with keen interest while savoring the food and drink.
After a while, Mo Hua noticed the serene yet somewhat lonely atmosphere of the bamboo room and asked, "Mr. Zhuang, do you plan on going out during the New Year? It's quite lively outside."
Mr. Zhuang seemed content to remain within the confines of his residence, whether resting in the bamboo room, observing the water from the bridge, or sitting in the courtyard, taking in the mountain views, the gentle breeze, the morning sun, and the evening glow.
Mo Hua had never seen him venture beyond these familiar surroundings.
Mr. Zhuang smiled at her suggestion. "I prefer the tranquility here. I'm not fond of noisy places."
"Oh, I see." Mo Hua nodded. "Then have I disturbed your peace by coming here to chat?"
Mr. Zhuang shook his head. "Too much quiet can also be boring. It's nice to have someone to talk to."
Reassured, Mo Hua relaxed.
The gentle breeze wafted through the room, rustling the bamboo grove outside, causing the flowers and grasses to sway gently.
Mo Hua and Mr. Zhuang conversed for a long while, their voices—one crisp and the other rich and mellow—intertwined and drifted away with the wind into the mountains.
When Mo Hua noticed Mr. Zhuang looking a bit weary, perhaps from the abundance of food or a hint of drowsiness, she stood up to take her leave.
"I won't disturb your rest any further, Mr. Zhuang. My mother also made some sweet and sticky rice cakes. I'll bring some for you to try in a few days."
Mr. Zhuang smiled. "Go on, then."
After bidding Mr. Zhuang farewell, Mo Hua sought out Guai Lao and presented him with New Year's gifts as well.
Mo Hua was well aware of Guai Lao's preferences.
Despite his advanced age, Guai Lao disliked soft and sticky foods. He favored crispy treats and those that made a satisfying crunch when eaten.
Thus, Mo Hua's gifts included an assortment of crispy snacks and several boxes of pine nuts—plain, spiced, and spicy.
Guai Lao tucked the gifts into his sleeves and, in turn, took out a chessboard, glancing at Mo Hua.
Seeing that it was still early in the day, Mo Hua nodded and said, "Let's play!"
The breeze stirred, carrying with it falling leaves, as the two terrible chess players spent the better part of the day playing the Five Elements chess game in the courtyard.
That evening, Dahuhu and the others invited Mo Hua to watch a monster play with them.
They were part of the performance, along with Daheping and Dazhu from the Refining Sect.
The magical beast was to be played by Dazhu and a few other disciples from the Refining Sect, but the Dahuhu brothers thought they didn't look the part, and the magical beast they portrayed seemed dull and idiotic. So, they decided to take on the role themselves.
The magical beasts in the Dark Black Mountain are known for their ferocity, so a dumb and clumsy portrayal just wouldn't do.
Thus, the final arrangement had the three Dahuhu brothers playing the magical beasts, while Dazhu, the artificer, took on the role of the demon hunter.
The group put on a somewhat decent show.
Mo Hua stood by, clapping and even offering them a small tip.
The surrounding cultivators joined in the fun, each tossing a few spirit stones as encouragement.
After the performance, Dahuhu and his brothers, accompanied by Mo Hua, set out to explore some of the more interesting and delicious spots in the area, enjoying the sights and treats along the way.
Dahuhu had already reached the seventh layer of Qi Refining, making him a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.
Mo Hua humbly sought his advice, "What should I pay attention to when trying to break through to the late Qi Refining stage?"
He had already reached the sixth layer, and advancing to the seventh layer would mean entering the late Qi Refining stage.
Although he cultivated a different technique, he could still listen to advice and make comparisons to have a better understanding of what to expect.
Dahuhu scratched his head, "Just keep cultivating as normal, and you'll need some spiritual objects. My technique uses Falling Sun Grass and Molten Fire Stones, along with some pills, to break through."
"Is that all there is to it?" Mo Hua asked.
"Not every breakthrough is successful," Dahuhu replied. "I was just lucky. Otherwise, I would've had to try a few more times."
Shuanghu, standing nearby, added, "I only failed once. If not for that, I would be in the late Qi Refining stage by now, too."
"What do you do if you fail?" Mo Hua inquired.
"Just keep cultivating," Shuanghu replied nonchalantly. "Save up more spirit stones, buy more spiritual objects and pills, and then try to break through again."
Shuanghu continued, "As cultivators, we keep doing this unless we give up, run out of spirit stones, or get too busy with other responsibilities."
Mo Hua nodded, "It sounds simple, but to keep at it for a lifetime, that's not so simple."
The youngest of the tiger brothers, Xiaohu, frowned, "The main problem is that some of these spiritual objects are too expensive. It's hard for solitary cultivators to afford them, and some are just impossible to get. You use them all up in one breakthrough, and if you fail, you have to buy another set."
Daheping and Dazhu nodded in agreement, "That's right! Where are solitary cultivators supposed to get so many spirit stones and connections to buy those spiritual objects?"
Everyone fell into a thoughtful silence, contemplating the challenges they faced.
Mo Hua also fell into a thoughtful silence, but then he suddenly remembered that cultivating the Heavenly Principle didn't require any spiritual objects, nor did it cost much in spirit stones. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The bottlenecks of the Heavenly Principle lay in the sea of consciousness and in formations, not in spiritual objects.
That was one of the reasons he had chosen this technique.
Mo Hua secretly congratulated himself on his foresight.
However, he soon remembered that while breaking through with the Heavenly Principle didn't require spiritual objects, it did require solving formation puzzles.
Formation puzzles were profound, complex, abstruse, and ever-changing, making them no easy task to unravel.
The path of cultivation was a fair one, and one wouldn't be able to cheat their way through.
Mo Hua wondered what kind of formation puzzle he would face in his sea of consciousness this time...
Mo Hua's thoughts raced as he calculated,
"I'm already at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, and it probably won't be long before I reach the peak of the sixth layer. When I attempt to break through, I'll find out what kind of formation puzzle I need to solve this time."
(End of Chapter)
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