Choice

"Forget it. I should focus on what's in front of me first..."

Mo Hua thought to himself, then obediently began leafing through the mid- and low-grade cultivation manuals.

Small Five Elements Art: Mid-to-low-grade cultivation manual, suited to cultivation by those with Five Elements spiritual roots. Can cultivate seventy cycles of Lingli. To reach perfection in the Qi Refining stage requires refining at least one thousand Spirit Stones, as well as heavenly treasures such as Centennial Soil.

Rejuvenation Art: Mid-to-low-grade cultivation manual, suited to cultivation by those with wood-element spiritual roots. Can cultivate seventy-five cycles of Lingli. To reach perfection in the Qi Refining stage requires refining at least one thousand one hundred Spirit Stones, as well as heavenly treasures such as Evergreen Wood or Evergreen Leaves aged ten years or more.

Hundred Flames Art: Mid-to-low-grade cultivation manual, suited to cultivation by those with fire-element spiritual roots. Can cultivate sixty cycles of Lingli. To reach perfection in the Qi Refining stage requires refining at least nine hundred Spirit Stones, as well as heavenly treasures such as Molten Fire Stone.

Lower-tier mid-grade cultivation manuals still required no small number of Spirit Stones to cultivate, but compared to high-grade manuals, they were already far better.

Yet every gain came with a loss. Mid-to-low-grade cultivation manuals consumed fewer Spirit Stones, but the Lingli they cultivated was likewise less.

With Mo Hua's lower-tier mid-grade spirit root, cultivating a lower-tier mid-grade manual, his Lingli at the same realm would probably amount to only a little more than half that of a cultivator with a lower-tier high-grade spirit root.

And this was only the lower tier of high-grade manuals. Mid-tier and upper-tier high-grade manuals would certainly cultivate even denser, more abundant Lingli. The farther one cultivated, the more the disparity in Lingli caused by differences in spirit roots became as distant as clouds from mud.

Moreover, spirit roots were ordained at birth and could not be changed.

"Sure enough, some people are favored by Heaven from the moment they're born..."

Mo Hua shook his head. But since spirit roots could not be changed, there was no point in dwelling on it.

Mo Hua flipped the Cultivation Manual Directory to its last page and saw a line of tiny print beneath it. Then he froze completely.

"Cultivation manual inheritance fee... what is that?"

Mo Hua read the note below:

The cultivation manuals of Immortal Gate had been painstakingly collected, diligently researched, and meticulously refined by Sect Masters and Elders throughout the generations. They embodied the life's blood of countless predecessors.

Disciples of the sect must pay a certain number of Spirit Stones to obtain the qualifications for inheritance.

The specific inheritance fees were listed below as well.

A lower-tier high-grade cultivation manual required an inheritance fee of eleven hundred Spirit Stones. Since high-grade spirit roots were rare, the discounted price was only nine hundred ninety-eight Spirit Stones.

The inheritance fees for mid-grade cultivation manuals were somewhat lower, and lower-tier mid-grade manuals lower still, but they nevertheless cost two hundred Spirit Stones.

Mo Hua was dumbfounded.

Why was there an inheritance fee too?

He had never heard of this before.

How could the sect charge fees so arbitrarily? This was way too shady!!

Mo Hua, who possessed only eight Spirit Stones in total, sighed helplessly.

This cultivation world was a little too real—and too realistic...

"Once you have chosen your cultivation manuals and paid the inheritance fees, the sect will impart those manuals to you. Cultivation manuals are matters of great importance. It would be best to return and discuss them with your parents and elders before deciding. Do not aim too high, but do not let shallow vision cause you to miss your future in the Dao either."

After Instructor Yan finished speaking, he left. Judging by his expression, he did not seem particularly willing to handle this sort of matter either.

After Instructor Yan left, the disciples gathered in twos and threes, whispering among themselves. Some were flushed with excitement, while others wore faces full of worry. The room immediately became noisy:

"What's an inheritance fee? I've never heard of it before..."

"Who knows? The sect is charging it—what can we do but pay..."

Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Art alone costs more than a thousand Spirit Stones just for the inheritance fee. Tsk, tsk..."

"If you really learn it, you'll probably have to sell yourself to the sect."

"Thanks, but my spirit root isn't worthy of it."

"My parents both have mid-grade spirit roots. Why is mine only low-grade? There's practically no cultivation manual for me to choose at all..."

"Go read the Theory of Cultivator Spiritual Root Evolution, and you'll understand why two parents with mid-grade spirit roots produced a low-grade spirit root like you..."

"Say, could there really be someone here with a high-grade spirit root?"

"There is. I have a distant cousin with a high-grade spirit root, but his father's a gambler and his mother's lazy. Their family is poor as dirt, so he could only choose a low-to-mid-grade cultivation manual. Such fine natural talent, wasted for nothing—how tragic..."

"Then even if I had a high-grade spirit root, I couldn't afford to cultivate."

"You could marry into another family..."

"Absolutely not!"

As the disciples discussed heatedly, Mo Hua rested his little chin on his hand and fell into thought as well.

This sect inheritance fee had exceeded his expectations.

There were actually cultivation manuals in the Cultivation Manual Directory that Mo Hua could choose, but his parents had only just scraped together his tuition. In the short term, they could not possibly produce so many Spirit Stones. Even if they borrowed and cobbled the money together from everywhere, it would be a heavy burden on the family.

"In that case, I can only hold off on choosing a cultivation manual for now. I'll make do with the Breathing Technique for the time being. Once I save enough Spirit Stones by drawing Array Techniques, I'll choose a cultivation manual from above to cultivate. I've only just entered the third level of Qi Refining, anyway. There's still some time before I break through to the fourth."

Mo Hua tossed the Cultivation Manual Directory into his Storage Bag. For the time being, he had no intention of bringing it home for his parents to see. His most urgent task remained drawing Array Techniques and earning Spirit Stones.

Mo Hua's days afterward were much the same as before. Every day, he persisted in cultivation and classes, drawing Array Techniques in his spare time.

Life in the sect was monotonous, but still fairly pleasant.

Spirit-Connecting Peak was a beautiful place, shaded by lush green trees and wreathed in a faint mist. Birds often circled overhead, and the air was thick with the fragrance of flowers.

After class, Outer Sect disciples often played in the mountains. The female disciples, lovely in appearance, would wander together to admire the flowers.

The male disciples, meanwhile, chased spirit beasts all over the mountain. Young male and female cultivators, their hearts just beginning to stir with love, whispered to each other amid the flowers by the mountain streams, while other disciples fought over jealousy and romantic rivalry.

But none of this had anything to do with Mo Hua. His heart was wholly devoted to array formations. Other than eating and attending lessons, he spent every moment studying formations. Even at night, he practiced drawing array inscriptions on a stone tablet in his sleep.

Among the fellow disciples he knew well, Da Hu was at the fifth level of Qi Refining, while Shuang Hu and Xiao Hu had long since reached the fourth level. All three cultivated at Mysterious-Connecting Peak. Though the two peaks were not far apart, they knew Mo Hua was focused on studying formations, so they generally did not disturb him unless there was a reason.

Mo Hua had an obedient, clever-looking face and an utterly harmless air. He treated people kindly and was fairly well-liked on Spirit-Connecting Peak. No one had any desire to bully him.

Moreover, Mo Hua was very good at formations and was highly regarded by Instructor Yan. If anyone tried to bully him and Instructor Yan found out, the consequences would be severe. Instructor Yan hated it most when disciples caused trouble among themselves instead of concentrating on cultivation. Once an instructor learned of it, the punishment would be extremely harsh.

Besides, Da Hu and the other two had always looked after Mo Hua. They were tall and powerfully built, following the path of Body Cultivators, and planned to enter Great Black Mountain as Monster Hunters in the future.

Whenever they had nothing to do, they would find someone to spar and fight with. If anything happened to Mo Hua, they would have long since rolled up their sleeves and come charging over from Mysterious-Connecting Peak.

Mo Hua cultivated without distractions. The only time he had dealings with another disciple was with Fatty An.

Mo Hua returned the ten Spirit Stones he had borrowed from Fatty An before the New Year.

When Mo Hua handed him the Spirit Stones, Fatty An froze. He had clearly forgotten about it, and only remembered after thinking for a long while.

The An Family was a great clan in Immortal City. He truly did not care much about ten Spirit Stones—though perhaps he simply had a poor memory.

Fatty An frowned as he recalled it for a long time, then his expression became somewhat complicated. "In all my life, you're the first person who borrowed Spirit Stones from me and actually remembered to return them."

Mo Hua inwardly sighed. So this was the foolish son of a rich landlord.

Some of the Spirit Stones he had lent out, he might have forgotten himself; others, people might have deliberately refused to return. And since he truly did not lack Spirit Stones, he had grown accustomed to it over time.

"You're so foolish... kind-hearted. Be careful not to get tricked by others."

Mo Hua had gotten halfway through the word "foolish" before changing it at the last moment. Patting Fatty An on the shoulder, he offered the advice as tactfully as he could.

Fatty An's expression grew even more complicated, even carrying a trace of emotion. "Brother Little Mo, everyone says I'm stupid. Only you understand that I'm actually kind-hearted. Of all the disciples I've met, you're the smartest. No wonder you draw formations so well!"

For a moment, Mo Hua did not know what to say.

More than a month passed. The sect's regular rest days arrived, and they were given two days off.

Mo Hua left the sect and went to Fate Pavilion on North Street. He handed the Bright Fire Formation he had drawn to Steward Wang, then asked, "Do you have any formations that are a little harder than the Bright Fire Formation, ones that can be exchanged for more Spirit Stones?"

Steward Wang glanced sideways at Mo Hua. "Your older brother told you to ask that?"

"Yes!" Mo Hua nodded.

"There are," Steward Wang said. He lowered his head and rummaged around behind the desk before pulling out an Array Diagram covered with several unfamiliar array inscriptions.

"The Earth Solidification Formation. It can solidify earth and stone. Cultivators generally use it when building houses or Cave Abodes, or reinforcing doors and windows. The Earth Solidification Formation is somewhat harder than the Bright Fire Formation. The payment for each Earth Solidification Formation is two Spirit Stones."

Two Spirit Stones... twice what the Bright Fire Formation paid.

"Can I look at the formation explanation first?"

Steward Wang rolled his eyes at Mo Hua. "What use would it be for you to look? Your brother needs to see it."

Though he said that, he still gave the explanation to Mo Hua. These explanations for basic formations were not particularly scarce things to begin with, so there was no harm in letting others look at them.

Mo Hua flipped through the explanation and discovered that many of the array inscriptions were indeed ones he had never seen before, ones the sect instructors had never taught.

"I wonder how long it'll take to learn this formation..."

The sect's inheritance fees for cultivation methods were too expensive. If he relied on drawing Bright Fire Formations to earn Spirit Stones, it would take quite a while to save enough.

Mo Hua wanted to draw a new formation, but he hesitated. If he drew it poorly, he might lose Spirit Stones. If he could not learn it and failed to finish drawing it within the deadline, the Array Pavilion would deduct the entire deposit.

"Forget it. You can't catch a wolf without giving up the child!"

Mo Hua made up his mind. Even if he failed to learn it within the time limit and all twenty Spirit Stones were deducted, he could simply go back to drawing Bright Fire Formations and earn them back.

If he wanted to become an Array Master, the formations he would need to draw in the future might be far more difficult than this. He could not possibly spend his whole life drawing nothing but Bright Fire Formations.