Chapter 397: Inheritance

Sun Yi felt a pang of dread.

This young cultivator is a Grade-One Array Master; our Sun family cannot afford to offend him.

But Sun Ze shifted his gaze and said:

"But Father, we've already offended him…"

Sun Yi froze.

Sun Ze continued: "Even if we let him go, he'll still harbor resentment toward us…"

Sun Yi's heart grew cold again.

Indeed.

Our Sun family has already offended this young Array Master.

At this point, hoping for peace is likely impossible…

But should we really go through with it? Make it final?

Sun Yi hesitated again.

He wasn't born of bandits; he simply wasn't cruel enough.

Mo Hua sensed the Sun family patriarch's inner turmoil, stirred slightly, and released his spiritual sense to probe him.

This inspection was blatant and utterly unhidden.

Sun Yi had still been wrestling with doubt when suddenly he sensed something—he froze, then widened his eyes in shock.

This spiritual sense?!

He snapped his head toward Mo Hua, voice trembling:

"I… it's you…"

Mo Hua said nothing, only gazed at him silently.

A chill settled deep in Sun Yi's heart.

Done for.

We've stumbled upon a monster.

The Foundation Establishment spiritual sense he first sensed—was it really coming from this young Array Master before him?

Qi Condensation realm, Foundation Establishment spiritual sense…

Our Sun family hasn't just offended a Grade-One Array Master—we've offended a cultivator with extraordinarily strong spiritual sense, one who may one day reach an unknown grade…

Sun Yi's face turned ashen; he stammered:

"I… our Sun family…"

Mo Hua said lightly: "I can overlook it."

Sun Yi jolted. "Is this true?"

"I don't lie to you."

Sun Yi gritted his teeth. "Fine!"

Heaven's way operates with constancy.

Those who transcend the norms of cultivation are either of noble lineage, exceptionally gifted, or possess extraordinary character and methods.

Such cultivators can only be respected from afar.

Otherwise, the Sun family will truly face disaster.

Fortunately, this young Mr. says he'll overlook it.

Whether he truly means it or not, the Sun family must take the opportunity to let them go, send this deity away before things spiral out of control.

And Sun Yi suddenly remembered something even more terrifying.

Qi Condensation Seventh Layer, Foundation Establishment spiritual sense, Grade-One Array Master…

Yet this person is still just a junior brother.

He has an older sister, an older brother, a reclusive master, and a driver—silent as a wooden statue—with an unfathomable background.

What kind of identity, what kind of cultivators, what kind of influence must they possess?

Just imagining it made Sun Yi's scalp tingle.

He dared not even think further.

Sun Yi immediately shouted:

"Clear the way!"

But Sun Ze understood instantly and whispered:

"Father, you mean to pretend to let them go, then strike when they let their guard down…"

Sun Ze made a throat-slitting gesture.

Sun Yi instantly clamped his hand over Sun Ze's throat, silencing him.

At this moment, he truly wished he could strangle his own son.

Though Sun Ze spoke softly, Mo Hua still heard him—he cast a long, meaningful glance at Sun Ze.

Sun Yi hurriedly apologized:

"My son is ignorant, speaks without restraint, and is unfit to inherit the family—please, Young Mr., forgive him."

Ignorant, speaks without restraint, unfit to inherit…

That meant Sun Ze would never become the next head of the Sun family.

Mo Hua nodded.

Sun Yi exhaled in relief, then bowed deeply, respectfully saying:

"We respectfully see off Young Mr. May you have a smooth journey!"

The other Sun family cultivators exchanged bewildered glances, completely unaware of what had just happened.

But whatever the patriarch did, they would follow—each bowed deeply and said:

"Honorably see off the Young Master!"

The Sun family cultivators parted to make way, bowing deeply in salute.

The surrounding spirit farmers were also confused, but seeing the Sun family's profound respect for Mo Hua, they too relaxed.

Ding Dachuan cupped his fists and said: "Young Master, have a safe journey!"

Mo Hua waved his hand and smiled: "Take care, everyone!"

"Young Master, take care!"

"Safe travels!"

"Good people get good rewards!"

……

The other spirit farmers also bid farewell, offering heartfelt blessings.

Thus, Mo Hua departed from Qianjia Town, escorted respectfully by the Sun family cultivators and warmly seen off by the spirit farmers, setting foot upon the road to distant lands.

It wasn't truly "dramatic," nor was there any danger.

But now that matters were settled, Mo Hua still exhaled a sigh of relief.

Sun Yi was clumsy in formation arts, but he knew how to behave properly.

It was best that no fighting broke out, that they left smoothly, and that no spirit farmers were harmed.

Mo Hua had already painted the Earth-Thickness Formation.

As long as the Earth-Thickness Formation nourished the land and enriched the soil, Qianjia Town would no longer have to endure famine.

What comes next must be left to them.

Whether they could preserve their spirit fields, protect the formation, resist the Sun family, and ensure their descendants would always have enough to eat…

Mo Hua could no longer concern himself with those matters.

He was merely a passing junior formation master, and could only help this far.

Bai Zisheng still felt a bit disappointed.

"We didn't even fight… I was hoping to test myself against a Foundation Establishment cultivator."

He had stood silently behind Mo Hua all along, waiting for the Sun family to strike, so he could step forward and unleash a storm of blows, showcasing his senior brother's prowess before his junior brother.

Too bad—the Sun family didn't give him the chance.

Bai Zi Xi said nothing.

But Mo Hua noticed she had quietly drawn a golden sword and stood silently behind him.

Mo Hua felt warmth in his heart and silently treasured the kindness of his senior brother and senior sister.

He would make them something delicious when he had time.

The spirit farmers of Dongshan Village had gifted him many ingredients—though not precious, they were all local specialties, unavailable elsewhere.

Mo Hua turned back to glance once more at Qianjia Town, and suddenly felt a pang of reflection:

"Such a formidable figure as the Sun family's Laozu—what a pity his descendants inherited neither his formation arts nor his character."

Master Zhuang, who had been closing his eyes to rest, slowly opened them and murmured softly:

"The blessings of ancestors fade after three generations, and are cut off after five."

Mo Hua asked, puzzled: "Master, must it really be three generations?"

"It's a figurative expression—but most lineages do decline generation by generation."

Bai Zisheng muttered under his breath:

"Our Bai family has passed down for many generations…"

The Bai family had endured many generations and remained prosperous, never suffering decline after three or five generations.

But he felt this remark contradicted Mr. Zhuang's words, so he dared not speak loudly.

Master Zhuang smiled gently:

"The Bai family has endured many generations, but never broken the lineage—because your Bai family's first and second-generation Laozu may not be dead yet…"

Upon hearing this, Bai Zi Xi was startled; Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng both opened their mouths wide.

If the first and second generations were still alive, how many years must they have lived?

Bai Zisheng exclaimed in disbelief:

"The mausoleum was built, the dead buried, the ancestral tablets erected, the incense offered—how could they not be dead…?"

Master Zhuang teased: "So, you're eager for your Bai family's Laozu to die?"

Bai Zisheng immediately clapped his hand over his mouth.

One must not speak lightly of such things.

Other matters could be joked about, but criticizing one's Laozu invited beatings and confinement.

Yet he remained deeply curious, and whispered secretly:

"Could they really still be alive…?"

Master Zhuang only smiled mysteriously, offering no answer.

Bai Zisheng's mind buzzed with doubt.

Bai Zi Xi thought for a moment, then asked Master Zhuang:

"Master, some small clans have endured over ten generations—not prosperous, but not declining either. Why is that?"

Unlike the Bai family, these small clans' Laozu had low cultivation and short lifespans; after ten generations, all ancestors must be dead, yet the clan remained stable—so it couldn't be called "decline after three, extinction after five."

Master Zhuang sighed:

"Whether a family thrives or declines over three generations, or is cut off after five, the key lies not in how many generations pass, but in ancestral teachings and family ethos..."

"If ancestors acted with selflessness and achieved great deeds, and descendants uphold ancestral teachings and maintain family ethos, the family will endure forever."

"Three generations or five, in truth, are all like one."

"If descendants forget ancestral teachings and let family ethos decay, relying only on their forebears' legacy to dominate and indulge in luxury and pleasure, then after three generations, the blessings will fade; after five, they will be severed."

"Take the Sun family—for instance, their ancestor once bestowed blessings upon Qianjia Town."

"But these descendants of his exploit that blessing to oppress and tyrannize."

"On the surface, the Sun family still flourishes, dressed in silk and feasting on fine food—but if they refuse to repent, their downfall will come in the blink of an eye."

Mr. Zhuang seemed to recall something, and said with a sigh:

"For a family, meager wealth or a gap in cultivators does not necessarily mean decline..."

"The true beginning of decay is the corruption of family ethos."

Bai Zixi and Bai Zisheng heard this solemnly and nodded involuntarily.

They came from prominent families and had seen many large and small clans; their understanding ran deeper.

Mo Hua, a lone cultivator, did not fully grasp it, but he nodded along.

The carriage rolled slowly, gradually leaving Qianjia Town behind; Mo Hua turned to look back at the spirit fields.

The spirit fields were rich and teeming with vitality.

The Thick Earth Array operated silently, gently nourishing the land.

But he wondered how long the array would continue to function, and how long the fields would remain fertile.

Bai Zixi followed Mo Hua's gaze and furrowed her brow slightly. "The Sun family won't let this go."

Such fertile spirit fields are like meat beside a wolf's mouth.

Even if the Sun family had a moment of conscience, it wouldn't last.

They would eventually succumb to greed.

The Sun family fears Mo Hua, a first-rank array master, but they do not fear these ordinary spirit farmers.

In time, this array will likely fall into the Sun family's hands.

Yet Mo Hua smiled at his junior sister.

"Don't worry."

Bai Zixi looked puzzled.

Mo Hua smiled again, saying nothing.

At this moment, in Dongshan Village, Ding Dachuan found the elder and recounted the entire incident.

The elder relaxed, sighing, "It's good you left safely—it truly was thanks to this young Mr."

Ding Dachuan nodded in agreement.

Then he turned his head and suddenly noticed Ding Miaor standing on the ground drawing something; he froze. "Miaor, what are you drawing?"

"An array!" Miaor said in a child's voice.

Ding Dachuan was startled. "Where did you get an array?"

Miaor pulled a book from inside his clothes. "My brother gave it to me. He told me to copy it, and then teach others once I've mastered it."

The elder's heart trembled. "Which brother?"

Miaor pointed toward the spirit fields—the brother who drew arrays there.

Miao pointed to the spirit field, meaning the brother who had drawn the array within it.

The elder's voice trembled.

Miaor thought for a moment, then nodded.

Brother said I could show it to my own people—the elder isn't an outsider.

The elder took the array book with trembling hands.

The book was written plainly and clearly; though he didn't understand arrays, he could grasp the general idea.

It was a soil-element array book, recording various soil-element arrays used in spirit fields.

These arrays progressed from simple to complex.

From basic patterns requiring little spiritual insight, to the six-line Nurture-Soil Array, culminating in the first-rank, eleven-line Thick Earth Ultimate Array—all were recorded with detailed annotations.

Which realm could learn which array, step by step, deepening gradually.

From beginner to mastery.

This was a complete array inheritance text, intimately tied to spirit farmers.

With this array book, even without the Sun family's aid, these spirit farmers could someday draw their own arrays.

The elder suddenly understood Mo Hua's words: one can only rely on oneself.

Overwhelmed, the elder's cloudy eyes filled with tears.

Deeply moved and grateful, though his body was frail, he bowed solemnly toward the distant mountains.

The distant mountains were veiled in mist.

Mo Hua's carriage and horses drifted farther, vanishing among the layered peaks.

Thank you to readers Huo Zhe Yan and Jianhun Platform for your support~

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