Seeking the Dao

When Mo Hua went to see Fat Manager again, he was told that the market had changed.

Fate Pavilion was no longer buying Bright Fire Formation or Earth Solidification Formation diagrams.

Mo Hua looked stunned and asked suspiciously, "The Bright Fire Formation is used for lighting, and the Earth Solidification Formation is used for building houses. Unless no one lives in Immortal City anymore, how could there be no demand for them?"

Fat Manager secretly grumbled about Mo Hua. It was not entirely a good thing for a child to be so clever—he was not easy to fool. He simply stopped making excuses. The more excuses he gave, the harder they would be to justify, so he waved his hand and said directly:

"How would I know? The market is what it is. There's nothing I can do about it!"

Mo Hua was speechless. He had only saved up half the Spirit Stones he needed to study cultivation techniques, so he could only ask, "Then what formations are you buying?"

Fat Manager coughed, took out an Array Diagram, and showed him the four words written on its cover: Metal-Stone Formation Diagram.

"We're buying Metal-Stone Formation diagrams now. It also has four Array Patterns, so it isn't much different from the Earth Solidification Formation."

Mo Hua looked over the Array Diagram and asked, "Manager, what is the Metal-Stone Formation used for?"

Fat Manager said, "It's somewhat like the Earth Solidification Formation. Both are used to reinforce doors, windows, and walls when building Cave Abodes or cultivators' residences. The difference is that one strengthens earth and wood, while the other strengthens metal and stone."

Mo Hua frowned. "Its function is about the same as the Earth Solidification Formation. If no one wants the Earth Solidification Formation, why would anyone want the Metal-Stone Formation?"

Fat Manager glared at Mo Hua and stubbornly replied, "The market is what it is. You're just a child, so stop asking so many questions!"

"Then is this formation also three Spirit Stones per diagram?"

It should have been...

Fat Manager felt a pang of pain, but he still raised the price and said:

"By rights, it should also be three Spirit Stones. But it's been rather scarce lately, so the price has gone up a little. You'll get four Spirit Stones for each completed diagram. Still, we won't take many—only five every half month."

It was scarce, yet they would not let him draw more?

Mo Hua found Fat Manager somewhat strange, but this was Fate Pavilion's business, and it was not his place to pry too deeply. As long as he could earn Spirit Stones, that was enough.

If he completed all of them, he could earn twenty Spirit Stones every half month. That was quite a handsome sum.

"Fine, it's a deal!"

Fat Manager let out a breath of relief and immediately pulled a Storage Bag from beneath the counter. He handed it to Mo Hua as though he had prepared it long ago.

Mo Hua accepted the Storage Bag and checked it over. Once he confirmed that it contained the Metal-Stone Formation Diagram and five sets of paper and ink, he bowed to Fat Manager and took his leave.

Just as he was about to reach the door, Fat Manager could not help calling after him:

"Mo Hua."

Mo Hua turned around. Fat Manager hesitated, then asked, "Do you think this formation is difficult?"

Mo Hua thought about it. It had four Array Patterns and resembled the Earth Solidification Formation. Since it was not especially difficult, he said, "It's all right."

Mo Hua took a few steps away, then turned back and added, "My brother should be able to draw it."

"Oh." Fat Manager looked at him with a complicated expression and nodded. "Draw it well."

"Right," Fat Manager called after Mo Hua again. "My surname is Mo—the Mo from 'don't get angry.' Just call me Manager Mo."

Mo Hua nodded. "All right, Manager Mo. I'll remember it."

After returning to Immortal Gate, Mo Hua studied the Metal-Stone Formation whenever he had time. Since it resembled the Earth Solidification Formation, and he had previously asked Instructor Yan about how to draw the Earth Solidification Formation, it was not too difficult for him to grasp.

Before an Array Technique class one day, Instructor Yan had the previously graded formation assignments handed out. On Mo Hua's Array Diagram, there was only a "B" grade.

Mo Hua looked left and right, then compared it again with the sect's Detailed Explanation of Formations. He found that he had not made a single mistake. Why, then, had he received only a "B"?

Mo Hua was rather puzzled.

The disciple seated beside him saw the "B" on Mo Hua's Array Diagram and cried out, "Wow, Mo Hua, you only got a B?"

Mo Hua saw the "C" on his Array Diagram and said nothing.

The disciple hurriedly covered his "C" with his hand and chuckled awkwardly before asking curiously, "How did you end up with only a B?"

Mo Hua was also confused. "I didn't draw anything wrong. I don't know why I only got a B."

"If you didn't make a mistake, how could Instructor possibly give you only a B?"

Mo Hua showed him the Array Diagram. "Can you tell where I went wrong?"

The disciple replied with perfect confidence, "If I could tell, I wouldn't have gotten only a C!"

The other disciples around them also craned their necks to look over Mo Hua's Array Diagram, then said one after another:

"It looks like there's nothing wrong with it."

"Mo Hua, did you offend the Instructor?"

"Be careful, or the Instructor might punish you."

"Instructor Yan doesn't seem like that kind of person, though..."

Before the sentence was finished, Instructor Yan entered the cultivation room. The disciples quickly pulled their necks back, sitting quietly like quails, not daring even to breathe loudly.

Instructor Yan taught as usual. At the end of class, he said:

"Cultivation is like rowing a boat against the current: if you do not advance, you retreat. The path of formations is the same. You must not grow slack and waste your time and talent for nothing."

After speaking, Instructor Yan swept his stern gaze across the room. At last, he looked at Mo Hua and said, "Mo Hua, come with me."

"Yes." Mo Hua rose respectfully and followed Instructor Yan out of the cultivation room.

Once Instructor Yan had left, the disciples inside gathered their heads together again:

"It's over, it's over. Mo Hua's in trouble now."

"When the Instructor said someone had grown slack, was he talking about Mo Hua?"

"But I've grown slack too. Why isn't the Instructor looking for me?"

"How can you compare yourself to Mo Hua? Mo Hua draws formations so well. The Instructor thinks highly of him."

"Good thing the Instructor doesn't think highly of me. He must never think highly of me..."

Mo Hua followed behind Instructor Yan out of the cultivation room. They passed the Alchemy Room and the Artifact Refining Room before finally leaving Mysterious-Connecting Peak.

Along the way, Instructor Yan did not say a word. Only when disciples, other Instructors, or sect elders greeted him did he nod or return the greeting with cupped hands.

Instructor Yan led Mo Hua all the way to his residence on Clear-Connecting Peak.

Clear-Connecting Peak was where the Sect Master, elders, Instructors, and Inner Sect disciples cultivated and lived. It was Mo Hua's first time there. The surroundings were indeed much quieter and more beautiful. Many courtyards were planted with dazzlingly colorful spiritual flowers and grasses, while spiritual beasts such as Brocade Chickens strolled about leisurely.

Only on Clear-Connecting Peak could these Brocade Chickens live so leisurely. If they were placed on Mysterious-Connecting Peak, they definitely would not see the sun the next day.

Mo Hua remembered the charred Chicken Leg Shuang Hu had handed him.

A formation had been set outside Instructor Yan's residence. There was a small Eight Trigrams Disk on the door, likely arranged by Instructor Yan himself, as no other courtyards or residences had one at their entrances.

Instructor Yan traced his fingers across the Eight Trigrams Disk a few times. A flash of light swept across the door, and it opened.

After entering, Instructor Yan sat before the desk and asked Mo Hua directly:

"Do you want to become an Array Master?"

Mo Hua answered modestly, "This disciple's talent is limited. I'm afraid I cannot become an Array Master."

Instructor Yan frowned. "Whether you want to is one matter; whether you have the talent is another. Do not look only at the outcome and lose your original heart. All living things beneath Heaven will eventually die. Does that mean none of them should live?"

Hearing this, Mo Hua answered solemnly, "This disciple wants to become an Array Master!"

"Why?"

"Cultivation is difficult. Formations can earn a living."

"And what else?"

"Cultivators seek the Heavenly Dao to become immortals. By comprehending formations, one may seek the Heavenly Dao."

Instructor Yan frowned. "The Heavenly Dao is distant beyond reach. A cultivator may exhaust an entire lifetime without glimpsing even a single scale or claw of it."

Mo Hua said, "As Instructor said, attaining the Dao lies with Heaven, but seeking the Dao lies with man. Since cultivators seek the Heavenly Dao, then regardless of whether they ultimately attain the Dao, they must not lose the heart that seeks it."

Instructor Yan fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "From now on, come here after class every day. Go back today first."

"Yes." Mo Hua did not understand why, but he still bowed and took his leave.

Instructor Yan watched Mo Hua depart. After a long while, he let out a breath.

"He's a good seedling."