Chapter 24: Chapter Twenty-Four: Seeking the Dao

When Mo Hua went to find Fatty Manager again, he was told the market had changed.

Youyuanzhai no longer accepted Minghuo Array or Gutu Array blueprints.

Mo Hua stared in shock and asked suspiciously, "Minghuo Array is for lighting, Gutu Array for building houses—unless no one lives in Xiancheng, how could they have no buyers?"

Fatty Manager silently resented Mo Hua; this kid's cleverness wasn't a good thing—he was hard to fool. He gave up on excuses entirely, since the more excuses he made, the harder it was to keep them consistent, and simply waved his hand:

"How would I know? That's just the market—I can't help it!"

Mo Hua fell silent. He'd only saved half the spirit stones needed for his cultivation technique, so he asked, "Then what arrays do you accept now?"

Fatty Manager cleared his throat and pulled out an array blueprint, its cover bearing four characters: "Jin Shi Array Map."

"We're currently accepting Jin Shi Array blueprints—also four array lines, not much different from Gutu Array."

Mo Hua studied the blueprint and asked, "Manager, what is the Jin Shi Array used for?"

Fatty Manager said, "Similar to Gutu Array—it's used to reinforce doors, windows, and walls in caves or cultivator dwellings, except one strengthens earth and wood, the other strengthens metal and stone."

Mo Hua frowned. "If its use is nearly identical to Gutu Array, and Gutu Array has no buyers, why would Jin Shi Array suddenly have any?"

Fatty Manager glared at Mo Hua and snapped, "That's the market—don't ask so many questions, kid!"

"So this array is also three spirit stones per blueprint?"

It should have been…

Fatty Manager winced but raised the price:

"Technically it's three spirit stones, but lately it's been scarce, so the price went up—a bit. Now it's four spirit stones per blueprint, but we only take five per half-month."

Scarce? Then why not let more be drawn?

Mo Hua found Fatty Manager's behavior odd, but this was Youyuanzhai's business—he couldn't pry too much. As long as he could earn spirit stones, that was enough.

If he succeeded in drawing all of them, he'd earn twenty spirit stones per half-month—quite generous.

"Fine, deal!"

Fatty Manager exhaled in relief, pulled a storage bag from beneath the counter as if prepared in advance, and handed it to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua took the bag, checked it thoroughly, confirmed it contained the "Jin Shi Array Map" and five sets of paper and ink, then bowed and took his leave.

As he neared the door, Fatty Manager couldn't help calling out:

"Mo Hua."

Mo Hua turned back. Fatty Manager hesitated, then asked, "Do you find this array difficult?"

Mo Hua thought—it had four array lines, similar to Gutu Array, not especially hard—and said, "It's manageable."

Mo Hua took a few steps away, then turned back to add, "My brother could probably draw it."

"Oh," Fatty Manager looked at him with a complex expression and nodded. "Draw it well."

"By the way," Fatty Manager called out again, "I'm Mo—Mo as in 'don't get angry.' Call me Manager Mo."

Mo Hua nodded. "Alright, Manager Mo. I'll remember."

Mo Hua returned to Tongxian Gate and studied the Jin Shi Array whenever he had spare time. Since it resembled Gutu Array, and he'd previously consulted Instructor Yan on how to draw Gutu Array, he grasped it without much difficulty.

One day, before the array class, Instructor Yan had the previous graded assignments returned. Mo Hua's blueprint received only a "Yi" grade.

Mo Hua glanced left and right, then compared his work against the Sect's "Detailed Explanation of Arrays," and found not a single mistake—why was it only "Yi"?

Mo Hua was puzzled.

The disciple beside him saw the "Yi" on Mo Hua's blueprint and exclaimed, "Whoa, Mo Hua, you only got a Yi?"

Mo Hua said nothing, seeing the "Bing" on his classmate's blueprint.

The disciple quickly covered his "Bing" with his hand, chuckled awkwardly, then asked curiously, "How did you end up with only a Yi?"

Mo Hua also wondered, "I didn't make any mistakes—why only Yi?"

"If you didn't make any mistakes, how could Instructor Yan give you only Yi?"

Mo Hua showed him the blueprint. "Can you spot any error?"

The disciple replied confidently, "If I could spot it, I wouldn't have gotten only Bing!"

Other disciples around them stretched their necks, glanced at Mo Hua's blueprint, then chimed in:

"Looks right to me."

"Mo Hua, did you offend Instructor Yan?"

"Watch out—he might punish you."

"But Instructor Yan isn't the type to do that…"

Before the sentence ended, Instructor Yan entered the cultivation chamber. The disciples instantly pulled their necks back, sat perfectly still like quails, not daring to breathe.

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

"Cultivation is like rowing upstream—if you don't advance, you fall back. The path of arrays is no different. Don't slack off and waste your time and talent."

After speaking, Instructor Yan scanned the room with a stern gaze, then fixed his eyes on Mo Hua and said, "Mo Hua, come with me."

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

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

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

"When Instructor Yan said someone was slacking, was he talking about Mo Hua?"

"I slack off too—why didn't he call me?"

"You can't compare yourself to Mo Hua—he draws arrays beautifully and is clearly favored by the instructor."

"Good thing I'm not favored—please don't favor me…"

Mo Hua followed Instructor Yan out of the chamber, past the alchemy room, the artifact forging room, and finally beyond Tongxuan Peak.

Instructor Yan remained silent the entire way. Only when other disciples or instructors bowed or greeted elders did he nod or return a hand gesture.

Instructor Yan led Mo Hua all the way to his residence on Tongming Peak.

Tongming Peak is where the Sect Master, elders, instructors, and inner disciples cultivate and reside. It was Mo Hua's first time here, and the environment was indeed much more tranquil and beautiful. Many courtyards were planted with vibrant spiritual flowers and herbs, and a few spiritual beasts like golden pheasants strolled about at leisure.

Only on Tongming Peak could these few golden pheasants be so leisurely. Placed on Tongxuan Peak, they definitely wouldn't live to see the next day's sun.

Mo Hua thought of the charred chicken leg that Shuanghu had handed him.

Instructor Yan's residence had a formation set up outside, with a small Bagua disk on the door. This was probably something Instructor Yan had set up himself; the entrances to other courtyards and residences didn't have one.

Instructor Yan traced his fingers across the Bagua disk a few times, a flash of light swept across the door, and it opened.

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

"Do you want to become an Array Master?"

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

Instructor Yan frowned and said, "Whether you want to is one thing, whether you have the talent is another. Don't only look at the outcome and lose your original heart. All beings in heaven and earth will eventually die—does that mean none of them should live?"

Upon hearing this, Mo Hua said solemnly, "This disciple wants to become an Array Master!"

"Why do you want to?"

"The Dao is hard to cultivate, and formations can provide a livelihood."

"Anything else?"

"Cultivators seek the Heavenly Dao to become immortal; comprehending formations can help one seek the Heavenly Dao."

Instructor Yan frowned and said, "The Heavenly Dao is beyond reach; a cultivator may spend their whole life without glimpsing even a fraction of it."

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

Instructor Yan was silent for a moment, then nodded. "From now on, come to me here every day after class. You may go back first today."

"Yes." Mo Hua didn't quite understand, but he still bowed and took his leave.

Instructor Yan watched Mo Hua leave, and after a long while let out a breath:

"What a fine seedling."