Chapter 405: The Journey
Chapter 405: The Journey
Xiao Huazhou Boundary, Nanyue City, Yan Jiaoxi, traitor, Spirit Pivot Array...
Mo Hua quickly recapped the information and glanced at Master Zhuang before asking softly, "Master, is Nanyue City on our way?"
He had been wanting to ask this question for a while.
Yan Jiaoxi had been his mentor and had not only taught him but also introduced him to valuable opportunities.
Gratitude for even a drop of water should be repaid like a gushing spring.
Mo Hua wanted to find Yan Jiaoxi and see if there was anything he could do to help him.
He also had a bit of a personal motive—he wanted to see for himself what the Spirit Pivot Array with twelve spirit patterns looked like.
He wondered if he could learn it, if he could master it, and ultimately, if he could use it to temper his spiritual sense, bringing it to the level of thirteen spirit patterns.
However, he didn't know where Master Zhuang was headed or if their paths would intersect.
If it wasn't on the way, he didn't feel right about changing Master Zhuang's plans on his own initiative.
Master Zhuang shook his head. "It's not on the way."
"Oh..." Mo Hua felt a twinge of disappointment.
"But we can take a little detour," Master Zhuang added.
Mo Hua was taken aback. "Won't that delay our journey?"
"No," Master Zhuang said with a smile. "As long as you can learn the array, it won't be a waste of time."
Mo Hua's heart warmed at his words.
After a moment of contemplation, Master Zhuang continued, "Also, I'm curious to see what's so special about the Spirit Pivot Array passed down by the Great Lingyin Sect."
"Mmm," Mo Hua nodded.
Now reassured, he still felt a nagging sense of doubt.
He couldn't shake the feeling that Master Zhuang's trip to the outside world was mainly to teach him arrays.
Mo Hua furrowed his brows.
This doubt had been lingering in his mind for a while.
During their journey, Master Zhuang had been neither rushed nor slow, mentioning that they were headed to a sect, but not seeming particularly urgent about it.
Instead, he had spent most of the time teaching Mo Hua how to derive, deduce, find, and comprehend absolute arrays.
And even when they reached their destination, it was for Mo Hua to learn arrays.
But what about Master Zhuang himself? What did he truly want to accomplish?
Mo Hua stole a glance at Master Zhuang.
His master's expression was serene and unfathomable, revealing nothing.
"I wonder what Master is always thinking about," Mo Hua mused to himself.
If Master Zhuang had any wishes, perhaps he could help fulfill them when his cultivation improved in the future.
But when would that day come? How long would he have to wait?
After all, he was just a small Qi Refining cultivator at the moment.
Mo Hua let out a soft sigh.
At that moment, Master Zhuang, unaware of the thoughts running through Mo Hua's mind, instructed Kuei Lao, who was driving the carriage:
"Take a detour to Nanyue City."
Kuei Lao pulled on the reins, and the white horse neighed softly, its hooves clopping as it turned onto another path leading to the Xiao Huazhou Boundary...
The Xiao Huazhou Boundary was also known as the Second-Rank Boundary of Li Province.
Under the Heaven's Path Grand Array, the highest cultivation level one could exert was at the Foundation Establishment stage.
Li Province was associated with the element of fire, and its fire attribute was robust.
Tongxian City, located in the north, enjoyed a slightly better climate due to its mountains and waters, lush with vegetation. However, it was generally hot throughout the year, especially scorching during spring and summer.
On the other hand, Xiao Huazhou Boundary, situated east of Li Province and further south, had an even drier climate.
While there were plants along the way, they were sparse and mostly brown, not thriving.
Just as cultivators adapted to their surroundings, the local cultivators in the area made a living by hunting demons or working as miners.
These miners were known as "stone artisans," "stone workers," "mine workers," or "miners," with slight variations in terminology across different regions.
Among these miners, only a small number worked in spiritual mines, as most were controlled by influential families or sects.
Spiritual mines were highly valued, and only members of their own forces would be assigned to extract the ores, rarely outsourcing to freelance miners.
The mines that these freelance miners worked in contained copper and iron ores.
The natural copper and iron in the cultivation world were extremely tough, requiring cultivators with strong physical bodies to exert a great deal of strength to mine them.
The extracted copper and iron were used in artifact forging, construction, pill refining, and other trades.
Even array masters' array brushes and spirit ink occasionally contained small amounts of copper or iron powder.
While Xiao Huazhou Boundary lacked abundant resources, it had an abundance of mines.
As a result, the local freelance cultivators made a living by selling their labor, digging mountains, and mining ores.
Although it was not explicitly stated, mining was considered one of the lowest "vile professions" in the cultivation world, only taken up by impoverished freelance cultivators.
Mining was not a simple task, and there were special techniques involved.
Mo Hua had only caught glimpses from a distance and had never witnessed the process up close, so he didn't know much about it.
Nevertheless, the Xiao Huazhou Boundary did live up to its name, appearing somewhat desolate.
Due to its desolation, bandits were more prevalent along the roads.
Often, their carriage wouldn't get far before they were stopped by a group of bandits.
These bandits didn't spout cliches like, "This mountain is mine, this tree is mine, pay a toll to pass," or anything similar.
There were no mountains to claim, and the barren landscape didn't offer any trees to plant.
Instead, they got straight to the point:
"Hand over your spirit stones," "Leave your carriage and horses," "We'll spare your lives," and so on.
In such situations, Mo Hua would usually respond differently depending on the bandits' backgrounds.
After all, the composition of bandits was quite complex.
Moreover, these people knew their limits.
Despite their harsh words, most of them would leave satisfied with just a few spirit stones.
One moment they would be shouting, "Hand over your spirit stones if you want to live!" and the next, after receiving the spirit stones from Mo Hua, they would become polite and courteous.
Some of them were probably so destitute that they hadn't earned a single spirit stone in a long time. They would even kneel and kowtow, repeatedly expressing their gratitude:
"Thank you, thank you, young brother!"
These cultivators didn't ask for much. With just a few spirit stones, they could buy coarse rice and bran flour to feed their families for over half a month.
They weren't greedy either. Once they received the spirit stones, they would leave with a sense of relief.
Mo Hua watched them leave, feeling both amused and saddened by their situation.
There were also cultivators who were simply lazy and wanted to rob others to live a comfortable life without working hard.
Mo Hua offered them spirit stones, but they were still unsatisfied.
At this, Mo Hua lost his patience.
He unleashed fireballs at them, knocking them all to the ground, giving them time to "reflect" on their actions.
Laziness often went hand in hand with slacking in cultivation.
As such, these robbers usually had low cultivation levels.
Accustomed to preying on the weak, their martial arts and magic skills were dismal.
They were no match for Mo Hua.
Of course, there were also some "tough nuts" to crack.
These were the local "habitual robbers," who were organized but not particularly strong, and had rules but weren't strict in following them.
They had numbers on their side, and each one of them had a vicious and greedy disposition.
Taking advantage of their strength in numbers, and underestimating Mo Hua as a young cultivator, they made exorbitant demands.
When Mo Hua offered them spirit stones, they felt it wasn't enough.
They also demanded that Mo Hua leave his carriage and horses behind.
What's more, when they caught sight of Bai Zixi, one of them boldly said:
"Leave the young girl with us!"
The other robbers licked their lips, their eyes gleaming with desire. "She's quite a beauty. We could sell her for a good price in the city."
"She'd probably fetch a few hundred spirit stones..."
"You useless fool, she's worth at least a thousand!"
Mo Hua grew angry.
How dare they try to sell his little junior sister? Bai Zisheng was even more furious.
Without wasting any words, he drew out his long spear, the faint golden spiritual energy rippling around him as he moved with ghost-like agility. He pierced the legs of the robbers in front of him, forcing them to their knees, and then proceeded to punch them repeatedly.
From the moment he drew his spear to the moment he started punching, it all happened in the blink of an eye.
The robbers were taken aback, and then erupted in anger.
"How audacious, you little brat!"
"Get him!"
"Teach him a lesson!"
"Let's sell them to the slave traders!"
...
The other robbers rushed forward as well, some surrounding Bai Zisheng, while others targeted Mo Hua.
Bai Zisheng remained calm and fearless, his spiritual energy surging as he unleashed a fierce barrage of punches, fighting off the robbers on all sides.
As a young master of a prestigious family, with his cultivation at the peak of the ninth layer of Qi Refining, possessing top-notch martial arts and magic, and regularly sparring with Mo Hua, dealing with these untrained robbers was a breeze.
Although the robbers had numbers on their side, they fought individually, lacking coordination and strategy. Gradually, they were all defeated one by one.
A few of them charged towards Mo Hua.
Riding on the back of his large white horse, Mo Hua gently tapped his fingers, sending fireballs flying towards the approaching robbers, knocking them all to the ground.
There wasn't a robber that a fireball spell couldn't handle.
And if one wasn't enough, he would simply cast another! Only one robber managed to escape the rain of fireballs and got within ten feet of Mo Hua.
But before he could make a move, Da Bai kicked out with his hind legs, sending the robber flying.
The robber crashed into the mountain wall and then fell to the ground, his bones shattered.
Da Bai nuzzled Mo Hua's head, seemingly seeking praise for his accomplishment.
Mo Hua caressed Da Bai's neck affectionately and smiled.
"Let's graze a little extra grass today to treat you to a good meal!"
Da Bai whinnied contentedly.
Within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the group of robbers was thoroughly defeated, lying on the ground and wailing in pain.
A few of them tried to escape, but Mo Hua immobilized them with his Water Prison Spell, allowing Bai Zisheng to chase them down and knock them out with his spear.
Bai Zisheng was still seething with anger. "How dare you lay your hands on my sister?"
He gave the ringleaders of the robbers a few extra punches to vent his frustration.
Mo Hua thought for a moment and felt that he should also stretch his legs. So, he drew out his Thousand-Jun Baton and joined in the beating.
Although they didn't beat them to death, they gave them a thorough thrashing.
After the beating, when Bai Zisheng saw the pitiful state of the robbers, he hesitated and asked, "Did we go too far?"
Mo Hua shook his head. "They're not good people, so we didn't go too far."
Bai Zisheng nodded in agreement.
Mo Hua raised his little finger and summed up, "On a small scale, this is called punishing evil and promoting good, and standing up for justice. On a larger scale, it's called contributing to the stability of the Xiao Huazhou Boundary..."
Bai Zisheng was shocked. "Mo Hua, you're quite the smooth talker. With your silver tongue, if you ever join the Dao Court, you'll definitely rise through the ranks."
He managed to justify their actions, driven by personal grudges, so skillfully.
Mo Hua pouted, unhappy with the accusation. "I'm an honest person. I always speak the truth..."
"We're all from the same sect. Who are you trying to fool?"
...
Bai Zixi watched the bickering duo, a faint smile dancing in her autumn-like eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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