Chapter 340: Dao Nai

Mo Hua nodded silently.

He thought he had considered everything, but he hadn't expected there to be so many things he had never considered…

After Mo Hua left with his thoughts heavy, Mr. Zhuang stared at the thick blood aura of Shenshan, lost in thought.

After a long while, Mr. Zhuang murmured sadly:

"Is this my karmic retribution?"

Gui Lao appeared silently behind him, speaking calmly:

"Not everything concerns you. Don't be so self-important."

Mr. Zhuang shook his head.

Gui Lao glanced at him coolly, "So? You don't want to leave anymore?"

Mr. Zhuang sighed, "Wait until this matter is settled."

The old man stared at the chessboard for a long while, then couldn't help complaining:

I shook my head and turned my gaze away, glancing at the compass beneath the table.

The Dao Nai has emerged, taking the form of a small corpse, anciently named Hanba.

In the past few days, the cultivators Mo Hua knew and his former companions were preparing to relocate the city.

"You watched it every day—was there no array? Isn't Big Master Zhuang lying to you?"

Genzhou, eighth-rank Longji Mountain border, Longshan City.

"He's just a Daoist—this isn't even him coming in person."

"Yes."

"Don't let him calculate it—if he does, you'll be in deep trouble…"

"Where to?"

After all, Qi Condensation cultivators are the lowest tier in the cultivation world, living hard lives, tough by nature, and inherently unable to bear much risk.

The old man gradually frowned.

The old man rambled on at length, but no one listened, and no one answered.

After speaking, the old man turned back, picked up the compass, stared again at the two lines of text, and muttered silently:

Tong Xiancheng smiled: "If only that day ever comes."

And at this very moment, in Daozhou, at the center of Sizhou, within the Dao Court, at the most prominent location of a high pavilion:

An old man with white hair and beard was playing chess.

"Ji Bo's family has somewhere to go too. Originally, with Ji Li and Fu Lan married, the whole family could have lived in peace—but then they encountered Wu Xiaoyao, and now they must flee again…"

Along the way, there may be no places like Great Baishan—treacherous terrain, toxic miasmas, demonic beasts, criminal cultivators, even evil cultivators.

"What about Ji Bo's family?"

"Let him calculate it—he's been calculated before, hasn't he?" Mr. Zhuang said indifferently.

Luo Xiaoshi sighed, "I'm relocating, but not south of Lizhou—I'm moving north to the eighth-rank Lanling Mountain border. I have old acquaintances there, and several sects have invited me to become their elder."

"Someone has played a move…"

Annotation: Relocation will be numerous; the Canglian poison floods the Eight Rivers; over half the relocating cultivators die or are wounded.

Tong Xiancheng still stared silently at Shenshan, at the blood aura rising to the heavens; after a long while, he whispered aloud:

Mo Hua was still pondering the great array, when he saw his parents had already packed their belongings.

I took out another compass marked "Sizhou Atlas," calculated according to the jade slip, traced a path with a flick of my finger, and gave a calm order:

"We'll go with you," Mo Shan replied, with a touch of emotion:

The Dao Nai has emerged, taking the form of a great demon, anciently named Fengxi.

"Fengxi? Who's feeding pigs this time?"

The old man glanced once, then ignored it, returning his gaze to his empty chessboard. Moments later, he suddenly felt something:

Mo Hua asked curiously, "Luo Xiaoshi? Are you preparing to relocate the city?"

"Only the living can repay a debt. The dead repay nothing but ghosts."

Mo Hua sighed.

On other compasses, similar text was written:

"Whether he lives or dies now depends on his own fate…"

"Lizhou… Mr. Zhuang…"

Gui Lao reminded him: "The Daoist has already come."

"Will everyone leave?"

Luo Xiaoshi explained to him:

After a moment, cultivators began leaving the Tianshu Pavilion one by one—some with solemn expressions, some with excited eyes, some with ulterior motives.

Annotation: Cangyun Mountain border has been destroyed, turned into a sea of corpses…

"Big Mo, you have no connections either."

"It's not just you—Mr. Zhuang, cultivators without status or position won't be allowed to relocate with the city to harsh lands. Everyone lacks connections."

"Dao Nai emerge frequently, heaven and earth fall into chaos—is it because the Great Dao exploits too heavily, causing cosmic imbalance and breeding evil in men's hearts—or is someone—or something—not human—plotting in the shadows?"

After placing a stone, the old man muttered:

North of Lizhou, seventh-rank Great Baishan Mountain border, Jia Shengjie.

After speaking, Gui Lao turned to leave, but Mr. Zhuang suddenly whispered, "Thank you."

Kanzhou, seventh-rank Jingwei Mountain border, Eight Rivers Ancient Ferry.

The Dao Nai has emerged, taking the form of a great ghost, anciently named Wuchang.

Old Kui knew persuasion was useless; Master Zhuang was, to put it kindly, decisive, and to put it bluntly, as stubborn as an ox, clinging to his own views.

At first I looked up at the sky, stared for a long time, then couldn't help muttering:

Annotation: Evil God's lingering thought, hidden within the visualization map; Thousand Lantern City has relocated.

……

"Father, Mother, are we relocating the city?"

……

"Once this matter is settled and the Dao Nai matter reaches a conclusion, I will depart and no longer entangle myself in the karmic ties of this place."

The old man fell silent in thought.

Outside the Mo family's eatery, Master Zhuang.

Mo Hua nodded.

Old Kui snorted: "Good words can't persuade a man doomed to die."

The small array probably won't be learned, nor can it be built…

Once the city relocates, I'll likely bid farewell forever to Jia Shengjie, to Tongxian City, and to Bai Zixi and Bai Zi Xi, who were never fellow disciples…

I'll probably have to relocate along with them.

Mo Shan said: "The old Zhou Zhangsi is still deliberating, but it's likely south of Liuzhou—either wasteland or barren mountains, places without cultivators, where you'll have to re-clear and settle anew."

Old Kui blinked in surprise, "Has he lost his mind?"

The old man blinked in surprise, "It's truly here…"

Over these past years, Dao Nai have appeared more and more frequently.

Every move of the Tian Shu Pavilion was crystal clear in the old man's consciousness, yet he ignored it all, placing his first stone upon the empty chessboard.

At dusk, the eatery suddenly received a visitor—this person was Luo Xiaoyao.

Mo Hua froze.

"What are you waiting for?"

Moreover, the future is uncertain; there won't be good days ahead.

Luo Xiaoyao handed Mo Hua an invitation:

Kunzhou, Seventh-Rank Cangyun State Border, Cangyun City.

Mo Hua murmured quietly: "It must be hard…"

Old Kui frowned: "Dao Nai are breeding here; word has reached Dao Ting Si and alarmed the Tian Shu Pavilion. Your movements will be calculated—they've always been watching you…"

Dao Nai manifests as Wu Xiaoyao, ancient name Xiangliu.

The old man sat silently, staring at the empty chessboard, expressionless, his entire being in a state of empty void.

Dao Nai manifests as Wu Xia, ancient name Huapi.

The jade slips rotated and calculated layer upon layer, finally aligning perfectly.

"Tongxian… that name has some meaning…"

It seemed both present here and present in the void.

Within the bamboo chamber, only Tongxian City remained.

Opposite him stood only a cushion, no opponent.

Qianzhou, Seventh-Rank Wendaoshan State Border, Thousand Lantern City.

Mo Hua's mood was low.

The old man placed that compass alongside several others of identical design.

"Isn't it better to be quiet? You're fine, I'm fine—why must you cause me trouble?"

"Send it out."

……

Within Jia Shengjie, faint golden spiritual energy outlined two brief lines of text:

After a moment, the old man spoke urgently:

"What?" Old Kui asked in confusion, "You still plan to repay the favor?"

……

Even some families, sects, and Dao Ting Si along the route are far from benevolent.

Soon after, Jia Shengjie reached the hands of numerous low-rank cultivators in the Tian Shu Pavilion; all of them reacted with shock, their expressions thoughtful.

"Good thing it's only Seventh-Rank…"

The white-robed cultivator at the door bowed deeply, accepted the compass, and stepped back inside.

Annotation: Ghosts have no form; by the time you realize, it's too late. Longshan was destroyed, turned into a ghost city; not a single cultivator survived.

Mo Shan nodded and sighed: "Dao Ting Si has already notified us; we must prepare without delay."

"Brother, have you not sinned enough?"

A white-robed cultivator, waiting respectfully at the door, stepped forward solemnly, placed a compass upon the table, then bowed deeply and withdrew.

The old man opened his left palm; spiritual energy shimmered brilliantly, solidifying into a celestial jade slip shaped as the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the Two Polarities and Seven Phases.

"Clearing land is secondary, merely hard work—the hardest part is the journey itself; it won't be peaceful. Not every cultivator will survive the relocation…" Mo Shan sighed.

Old Kui spoke coldly, then turned and left, his silhouette still carrying a trace of melancholy.

"Come in."

Tongxian City smiled bitterly: "I've never forgotten your kindness."

Upon the cushion sat only one person, just as upon my chessboard sat only one stone.

Before me stood only the chessboard, no stones.

……