Chapter 1: Mo Hua

The 20,022nd year of the Dao Calendar, the 10th day of the ninth month.

Tongxian City, the outer mountains of the Tongxian Sect.

Ten-year-old Mo Hua, dressed in the simple robes of an outer disciple, squatted listlessly behind a giant boulder at the foot of the mountain. Holding a blade of grass, he buried his head in the ground, drawing complex patterns in the dirt.

By the hour of Mao (5:00–7:00 AM), disciples heading to the sect for their studies began to arrive, walking up the mountain in twos and threes, chatting and laughing.

A chubby boy, wearing the standard outer sect robes adorned with expensive jade ornaments, approached Mo Hua—who was happily drawing away behind the rock—accompanied by two or three lackeys.

The chubby boy looked left and right. Finding no sign of the sect instructors, he poked his head forward and hissed

"Mo Hua!"

Mo Hua looked up, revealing a handsome, picturesque face with eyes as clear as a pool of spring water.

The chubby boy lowered his voice: "Is it done?"

Ten-year-old Mo Hua patted his chest like a little adult. "When I handle things, you can rest easy." With that, he took several arrays from the storage pouch behind him—white paper with red ink—and handed them to the boy.

"Check and see if there’s anything wrong."

The chubby boy took them solemnly, opened the copies, and gave them a serious look before pulling a bitter face.

"I can't understand this..."

Mo Hua explained patiently

"The homework assigned by the instructor is the basic array patterns of the Five Elements Array. I’ve drawn them for you, and I even intentionally made six mistakes so the instructor won't suspect that you didn't draw them yourself..."

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

Mo Hua looked at him silently.

The chubby boy immediately realized his error and reflected

"One shouldn't be too greedy. It's good enough that I can hand in the homework the instructor assigned. If it's too perfect, it’ll only invite suspicion. If the instructor finds out and my dad hears about it, he’ll definitely beat me to a pulp. It’s not worth the risk, not worth the risk..."

Mo Hua nodded. "As expected of Young Master An, you figured that out so quickly!"

The chubby boy shoved two spirit stones into Mo Hua's hand. "Brother Mo, your judgment is still the best; you know I'm smart! Here are your spirit stones. I'll come to you again next time the instructor assigns array homework!"

After saying this, he tucked the arrays into his robes and scurried up the mountain.

Mo Hua carefully put away the two spirit stones, plucked another blade of grass, and continued drawing on the ground.

A moment later, a thin young master arrived, waving a gold-dusted paper fan. He had a mean-spirited look and wore even more jade pendants.

Mo Hua handed him a set of array diagrams. The thin youth glanced at them and gave his servant a look. The servant stepped forward, took the diagrams, and handed Mo Hua two spirit stones.

The thin youth took the diagrams but didn't leave. Suddenly, he snapped his fan shut and said haughtily: "This young master is also extremely proficient in arrays; I simply don't have the time to do these basic formations, which is why I let you ghostwrite them."

Mo Hua couldn't be bothered to deal with him and went back to drawing on the ground with his grass blade.

The thin youth felt annoyed and sneered, "It is said that among the Qi Refining stage disciples of the Tongxian Sect, you are the best at drawing arrays. I wonder how you compare to me? Shall we have a contest when you have time?"

Mo Hua thought to himself: *You’re already paying me to do your array homework, so what does that say about your own level?*

However, adhering to the principle that "harmony brings wealth," Mo Hua looked up and offered some flattering words

"Naturally, your attainments in arrays are far higher, Young Master. The Qian family is the greatest clan in Tongxian City; no other cultivator can compare to your family's array heritage."

The thin youth’s expression cleared slightly. He asked again, "Then tell me, among the Qi Refining disciples of the Tongxian Sect, is there anyone whose array standards can surpass mine?"

"There are, actually..."

The thin youth was displeased. "Who are they?"

*For example, me...* Mo Hua certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to say that out loud.

"There are quite a few; I can't count them all at once."

The thin youth was clearly angry.

"This is a good thing!" Mo Hua said, lying through his teeth.

The thin youth sneered, "If their family background isn't as good as mine and they don't have as many spirit stones as I do, yet their array skills are higher than mine, are you trying to say I’m stupid and untalented compared to others? How is that a good thing?"

Mo Hua said, "Cultivators in Tongxian City, no matter how talented or well-learned they are, don't they all end up joining the Qian family's Myriad Treasures Pavilion to refine weapons, concoct pills, and draw arrays for your family?"

"Think about it: you’re only at the Qi Refining stage, yet you have Foundation Establishment cultivators working for you. You’re only a First-Grade Array Master, yet you have Second-Grade Array Masters at your beck and call. How impressive is that! The more capable your subordinates are, the more it shows how great your own ability is!"

The thin youth was stunned, then suddenly realized. "That actually makes some sense!"

"See?"

The thin youth nodded. Looking at the masses of cultivators below the mountain, he tilted his chin even higher

"Not bad! Not bad! No matter how high your talent or how hard you cultivate, in the end, don't you still have to work like beasts of burden for my Qian family?"

The mean-looking Young Master Qian finished speaking and walked away with his head held high.

After fooling the Qian family youth, Mo Hua continued practicing arrays on the ground with his grass blade.

Before long, several more wealthy cultivators came by. Money changed hands, and they bought several sets of arrays from Mo Hua. By the time he finished selling his hand-copied arrays, he had twelve spirit stones in his hand.

Twelve spirit stones were quite a lot for a rogue cultivator, but for the path of cultivation, it was still far from enough.

Mo Hua sighed, a trace of helplessness appearing on his young face.

For a low-level cultivator, there is no hope in the path of cultivation...

In the first year of the Dao Calendar, over 20,000 years ago, the greatest power in the cultivation world—the Dao Court—unified the nine provinces of the cultivation world, enfeoffed noble families and sects, established a unified ranking system, and standardized the levels of cultivation professions.

The Dao Court also promulgated the "Dao Laws" to restrain cultivators, forbidding wanton killing, looting, and predatory cultivation.

The cultivation world developed through this, enjoying over 20,000 years of peace and extreme prosperity. Its territory was vast, and the number of cultivators was beyond counting.

However, while the Dao Court flourished, noble families lived in luxury, and sects dominated their respective regions.

Only the low-level rogue cultivators, having no one to rely on, lived in hardship with no hope for their cultivation path.

Over 20,000 years of reproduction in the cultivation world, mortals without spiritual roots were gradually eliminated by nature. Those who remained were all cultivators with spiritual roots who could practice the Dao. But the more cultivators there were, the more spiritual energy was consumed, until the spiritual energy between heaven and earth was nearly exhausted.

Nowadays, if a cultivator wants to practice the Dao, they need not only heritage but, more importantly, spirit stones.

Yet, great families occupy the spirit mines, low-level rogue cultivators lack spirit stones, and large sects monopolize the heritage, leaving ordinary rogue cultivators with no path to follow.

In Tongxian City, the vast majority of rogue cultivators have neither heritage nor spirit stones, and they will remain at the Qi Refining stage for their entire lives.

The Qi Refining stage is nothing but a humble ant beneath the vast Heavenly Dao.

And Mo Hua is one of these hundreds of millions of ants.

And in all likelihood, he will be one for his entire life!

A bitter look crossed Mo Hua's youthful face.

The Heavenly Dao may be equal, but the path of cultivation is absolutely not...

Mo Hua is a second-layer Qi Refining rogue cultivator, born into a family of rogue cultivators where both his father and mother are at the Qi Refining stage.

His father, Mo Shan, makes a living hunting demons, constantly fighting beasts and covered in scars. His mother works as a kitchen helper in a dining hall, suffering from the heat of the stoves and chronic coughing.

Every spirit stone his parents saved by scrimping and saving was only to allow Mo Hua to enter the outer sect of the Tongxian Sect to cultivate.

But no matter how hard Mo Hua practices, with his low-to-mid-grade spiritual roots—though slightly better than the average person—he is destined to be just an ordinary member in a world filled with geniuses.

No matter how much he cultivates, he will likely remain just a Qi Refining cultivator.

Given his family's hardships and lack of spirit stones, Mo Hua will likely be like most disciples: leave the sect upon reaching the sixth layer of Qi Refining and find a trade to make a living.

But Mo Hua is also naturally frail!

The trades that Qi Refining cultivators rely on, such as weapon refining or demon hunting, generally require physically robust body cultivators. Mo Hua, being born frail, might not even be able to find a job to put food on the table.

If he were to marry and have children in the future, the burden would increase, and all his spirit stones would be used to support his family.

Without spirit stones to cultivate, Mo Hua's cultivation would stagnate forever, and he would remain a Qi Refining cultivator his whole life.

Just like all the poor rogue cultivators in Tongxian City.

Just like the hundreds of millions of low-level cultivators in this cultivation world.

A Qi Refining cultivator for life!

Ten-year-old Mo Hua sighed, composed himself, and went into the sect for his lessons. After a day of cultivation, Mo Hua returned to his living quarters, read some cultivation texts for a while, and lay down on his bed when the hour of Zi (11:00 PM – 1:00 AM) arrived.

As Mo Hua closed his eyes, a broken stele appeared within his sea of consciousness.

There were no words on the broken stele, but from the very first moment Mo Hua saw it, he knew the name of the stele

Dao Stele!

(End of chapter)