Chapter 224

After watching the fireworks, Snow Aunt thanked Mo Hua, then bid farewell to the Mo Shan couple, and returned with Bai Zisheng and Bai Zi Xi.

Mo Shan had made plans with several hunters from the demon-hunting team to drink together.

Liu Ruhua went with Jiang Yi to view the lanterns and tried a few newly opened pastry shops.

Fireworks still blazed across the sky, so Mo Hua could only wander the streets alone.

As he wandered, Mo Hua's spiritual sense suddenly stirred; he looked up and saw Elder Yu sitting alone on a rooftop, drinking alone.

Mo Hua used the Step of Flowing Water, vertically adhering to the wall, and stepped one by one onto the rooftop.

Elder Yu spotted Mo Hua, his eyes brightening; he patted the tiles beside him. "Come, sit here, have a drink with me."

Mo Hua sat beside Elder Yu, took out fruit wine from his storage pouch, and clinked cups with him.

Elder Yu's wine was strong, burning harshly in the throat.

Mo Hua's wine was sweet, and he could drink as much as he liked.

The fruit wine slid down his throat, clean and sweet with lingering flavor; Mo Hua couldn't help shaking his small head, glanced at Elder Yu, and asked:

"Elder, are you alone?"

"So what if I'm alone?"

"You look so lonely…" Mo Hua said sympathetically.

Elder Yu raised an eyebrow, sighed, and gazed into the distance. "I'm happy, that's why I came up here for a drink."

Mo Hua nodded. As long as he was happy, not miserable, that was enough.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then suddenly asked: "Elder, is Foundation Establishment very difficult?"

"What, are you thinking of attempting Foundation Establishment?" Elder Yu was surprised.

"Not yet—I'm just asking first," Mo Hua said with a shy smile.

He was currently at Qi Refinement sixth layer, not even at the late stage of Qi Refinement; he still had time before Foundation Establishment.

"Foundation Establishment? It's not hard, but it's not easy either."

"Elder, be straightforward."

Elder Yu choked slightly, then dropped the pretense and said directly:

"The difficulty of Foundation Establishment boils down to two things: spiritual roots and spirit stones…"

"Spiritual roots need no elaboration—better roots mean deeper spiritual energy and easier breakthroughs. Spirit stones need no explanation either—without them, you can't even cultivate, let alone attempt Foundation Establishment."

"What about spiritual items?" Mo Hua asked.

"Most spiritual items still require spirit stones to buy—at least, the ones ordinary cultivators like us need are all purchasable with spirit stones," Elder Yu said.

Mo Hua nodded. "So ultimately, it's still about spirit stones."

Elder Yu nodded. "Exactly."

"Then if your spiritual roots aren't bad and you have no shortage of spirit stones, can you definitely achieve Foundation Establishment?"

"Nothing in this world is guaranteed—there's always some twist. But as long as you have enough spirit stones, Foundation Establishment is highly likely."

Elder Yu took another sip and continued: "Prepare your spirit stones, gather all the spiritual items, fail once, try again—eventually, you'll succeed. And once you succeed, you become a Foundation Establishment cultivator."

Mo Hua frowned. "Sounds like it's not that hard…"

"Cultivation begins at Qi Refinement. Foundation Establishment is a step above, but it's only one more step. It's from Golden Core onward that each stage becomes harder than the last, demanding strict conditions on spiritual roots, talent, comprehension, and lineage."

Elder Yu sighed. "As for Foundation Establishment, all you really need is spirit stones."

Foundation Establishment only needs spirit stones—but among hermits, Elder Yu was the only one in a hundred years to succeed.

Mo Hua asked: "How many spirit stones does Foundation Establishment require?"

Elder Yu sighed. "It varies by person—between cultivation expenses and purchasing spiritual items, you'll need at least ten thousand spirit stones."

Mo Hua silently calculated: an ordinary Qi Refinement cultivator earns one spirit stone per day, three hundred and sixty per year—so saving ten thousand would take roughly thirty years.

No food, no drink, no expenses—save for thirty years.

And this is only for one attempt—if you fail, all those spirit stones are gone, and thirty years of hard work vanish.

Besides, how could a cultivator possibly eat nothing, drink nothing, suffer no illness, avoid all accidents?

Mo Hua sighed.

Elder Yu said bitterly: "The main reason hermits can't achieve Foundation Establishment is poverty."

"There are many thresholds in cultivation, but poverty is the most hopeless one."

"If your spiritual roots are poor, you know from the start the path is closed. But poverty first gives you hope, then crushes you with despair—spirit stones are always a drop in the ocean, and the Dao always remains out of reach."

Elder Yu's expression held both sorrow and helplessness.

"Are all hermits in the world like this?" Mo Hua asked.

"Roughly so," Elder Yu sighed. "In the cultivation world, Qi Refinement cultivators are the most numerous—and the most suffering. Across the vast Nine Provinces, boundless and endless, when you leave Great Heishan one day and see for yourself, you'll find countless Xianchengs poorer than Tongxian City, and countless cultivators suffering more than our demon hunters."

Mo Hua's expression darkened; he fell silent.

Only then did Elder Yu realize he'd spoken too much—these words shouldn't have been spoken to a child like him.

Elder Yu patted Mo Hua's shoulder and changed the subject: "We can't control others' fates, but at least the hermits of Tongxian City will grow better from now on—thanks to you."

Mo Hua felt embarrassed. "I didn't do much—just drew some arrays."

"Arrays are the most important," Elder Yu said solemnly. "Without array masters drawing arrays, even if ten or twenty hermits achieved Foundation Establishment, it would make no difference—they'd still be poor, still suffer."

Mo Hua froze.

He knew array masters held higher status and that arrays were hard to learn—cultivation society needed arrays everywhere—but he hadn't thought they mattered more than three or four Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Elder Yu saw Mo Hua's confusion and patiently explained:

"Qi Refinement is the bottom tier. The next step is Foundation Establishment—once you become a Foundation Establishment cultivator, you gain the right to seek the Dao and change your own fate."

"I became a Foundation Establishment cultivator and changed my own fate—but I can't change the fate of other hermits. I can negotiate with the Qian family to ease their oppression, but in truth, I can't help them much."

"They're still poor, still suffering, still barely surviving, still doomed to remain Qi Refinement for life. I have cultivation, but even if I stole or robbed, I couldn't gather enough spirit stones."

"But the arrays are different!"

Elder Yu gazed intently at Mo Hua, "Even if you're only at Qi Refinement, as long as you understand arrays, you can truly benefit all cultivators without sects. Let them earn a living, acquire Spirit Stones, and advance further in their cultivation."

"Cultivation can be used to kill, but arrays can bring blessings to all living beings!"

Mo Hua was deeply moved and nodded, "Elder, I understand."

Elder Yu nodded with satisfaction, fell silent, and quietly gazed at the ten thousand lanterns of Xiancheng.

Mo Hua followed Elder Yu's gaze.

Red lanterns hung from street end to street end; beneath their glow, children chased and played, cultivators greeted each other with bows or walked together in pairs, the scene bursting with vitality.

Splendid fireworks blazed across the horizon, market stalls lined the streets in dense rows, and crowds surged along the thoroughfares.

Laughter and joy blended with the ten thousand lanterns and the brilliant fireworks above, illuminating the entire night sky.

These ten thousand lanterns and dazzling fireworks also reflected in Mo Hua's eyes.

The young Mo Hua gradually solidified his Dao heart:

In this life, he would strive to cultivate, unravel the mysteries of arrays, and seek immortality through arrays that pierced heaven and earth, defying fate and altering destiny.

He would change his own fate—and the fate of every lowly cultivator beneath heaven.

Then, not only in Xiancheng, but all cultivators without sects beneath heaven would never again be merely Qi Refinement!