Chapter 404: The Journey

Xiao Huang Prefecture, Nanyue City, Master Yan, traitor, Lingshu Array…

Mo Hua briefly organized his thoughts, then glanced at Mr. Zhuang and asked softly:

"Master, is Nanyue City on the way?"

He had wanted to ask this earlier.

Master Yan had given him the grace of initial instruction and introduced him to opportunities.

Even a drop of kindness deserves a gushing spring in return.

Mo Hua wanted to find Master Yan and see if there was anything he could do to help him.

He also had a private motive: to see what the first-grade twelve-stripe Lingshu Array truly looked like.

Could he learn it? Could he master it? Could he ultimately use it to refine his spiritual sense and reach the thirteen-stripe realm?

But he didn't know where Mr. Zhuang was headed, or whether it was on the way.

If it wasn't, he wouldn't dare to arbitrarily change Mr. Zhuang's plans.

Mr. Zhuang shook his head. "Not on the way."

"I see…" Mo Hua felt a pang of regret.

"But we can take a detour," Mr. Zhuang added.

Mo Hua blinked in surprise. "Won't that delay our journey?"

"No," Mr. Zhuang smiled. "As long as you learn the array, it's not a delay."

Mo Hua's heart warmed.

After speaking, Mr. Zhuang sighed slightly:

"Besides, I also want to see what special qualities the Lingshu Array passed down by the Great Spirit Hidden Sect truly holds."

"Mm," Mo Hua nodded.

Now he felt reassured, yet he also felt puzzled.

He always felt that Mr. Zhuang's wandering journey seemed aimed at teaching him array techniques…

Mo Hua frowned.

This doubt had long existed in him.

Along the way, Mr. Zhuang moved slowly and calmly, saying he was heading to a certain sect, yet never seemed in urgent haste.

Instead, he constantly taught Mo Hua how to calculate, deduce, locate ultimate arrays, and comprehend them…

And even upon reaching their destination, it was always so Mo Hua could learn arrays.

Then what about himself?

What did his master truly wish to accomplish?

Mo Hua stole a glance at Mr. Zhuang.

Mr. Zhuang's expression was serene and detached, inscrutable, revealing nothing.

"I wonder what my master is thinking…"

Mo Hua muttered silently to himself.

If my master has any wish…

Perhaps when I grow stronger in the future, I can help him fulfill it.

But I don't know when that day will come…

After all, I'm still just a Qi Condensation cultivator.

Mo Hua sighed softly.

Mr. Zhuang, unaware of the small thoughts in Mo Hua's heart, merely spoke to the carriage driver, Old Gui:

"Take a detour to Nanyue City."

Old Gui tugged the reins; the white horse let out a "Siiiiu!" and stamped its hooves, turning onto another road leading toward Xiao Huang Prefecture…

Xiao Huang Prefecture is also a second-grade prefecture.

Beneath the Celestial Array, the highest cultivation realm permitted is Foundation Establishment.

Li Prefecture belongs to Fire; its fire energy is abundant.

Tongxian City lies to the north, where the climate is slightly better—with mountains, water, and lush vegetation—but it remains mostly hot year-round, especially scorching in spring and summer.

Xiao Huang Prefecture lies east of Li Prefecture, farther south, with a drier climate.

Vegetation exists along the route, but is far sparser, mostly brown and not dense.

Cultivators live off the land they dwell upon.

The several Xiancheng along the path mostly rely on hunting demons; next most common are mining cultivators.

Mining cultivators are those who mine.

Locally, they are also called "Stone Craftsmen," "Stone Workers," "Miners," or "Mine Laborers."

Cultivator customs vary by region, and terms differ slightly.

Among these mining cultivators, few mine spiritual ore.

Spiritual ore in Xiao Huang Prefecture either belongs to the Dao Court or is controlled by major clans and sects.

Spiritual ore is extremely valuable; it is almost always mined directly by the sect's own cultivators, rarely delegated to outside cultivators who are mere miners.

These mining cultivators dig mines containing copper and iron.

Naturally occurring copper and iron in the cultivation world are extraordinarily tough, requiring cultivators with strong body cultivation to exert tremendous effort just to break them open.

The extracted copper and iron are used in forging, construction, and alchemy.

Even array masters' array brushes and spiritual ink occasionally contain copper or iron powder.

Xiao Huang Prefecture has few other abundant resources, but its mines are numerous.

Thus, local cultivators without sect affiliation relied on selling their labor to quarry mountains and mine ore for survival.

Among the hundred arts of cultivation, though never explicitly stated, mining cultivators were considered a lowly "base trade," undertaken only by impoverished itinerant cultivators.

Opening mines was no simple matter; there were certain specialized techniques involved.

Throughout the journey, Mo Hua had merely glanced from afar a few times and never witnessed it firsthand, so he wasn't entirely clear on the details.

But overall, the Xiao Huangzhou border was indeed as its name suggested—slightly more desolate.

Because of its desolation, bandits along the road had increased in number.

Often, the carriage had not traveled far before being blocked by several bandits.

These bandits never uttered such phrases as "This mountain I opened, this tree I planted, if you pass here, leave your toll."

For the mountains were dug by mining cultivators, and there were no trees to plant in these desolate lands.

They didn't waste time on such nonsense, but instead said something more practical, like:

"Hand over the spirit stones," "Leave the carriage and horses," "We'll spare your lives."

Under such circumstances, Mo Hua usually treated them differently.

For the composition of bandits was very complex.

Some were truly destitute, their families unable to afford food, their wives and children nearly starving to death—forced by desperation to cover their faces, carry knives, and ambush travelers.

Mo Hua thought such actions were wrong, but given their dire need for survival, he would not blame them.

Moreover, these people knew their limits.

Though their words were harsh, most could be driven off with just a few spirit stones.

Just moments before, they might still be shouting: "Hand over the spirit stones, or we'll spare your lives!"

Once Mo Hua gave them a few spirit stones, they immediately became courteous.

Some, driven to utter desperation and having not earned a single spirit stone in ages, would even kneel and bang their heads on the ground, repeatedly saying:

"Thank you, thank you, young brother!"

These cultivators asked for little—just a few spirit stones, enough to buy coarse rice bran and flour to feed their families for half a month.

They were not greedy; once they received a few spirit stones, they left with visible relief.

Mo Hua watched, both amused and saddened.

Some cultivators, however, were simply lazy and greedy, seeking to rob and plunder for quick wealth.

Mo Hua gave them a few spirit stones, but they still weren't satisfied.

In such cases, Mo Hua had no patience.

He blasted one with a fireball at a time, knocking them all down to lie on the ground and "reflect" properly.

Laziness and aversion to labor went hand in hand with neglect of cultivation.

Thus, such bandits generally had low cultivation levels.

Accustomed to bullying the weak and cowering before the strong, their martial arts and spells were utterly pathetic.

They were no match for Mo Hua.

Of course, there were also some "hard cases."

These were local "habitual bandits"—organized, but not powerful; bound by rules, but not strictly so.

They were numerous, each one vicious and cruel, with greedy dispositions.

Relying on their numbers and seeing Mo Hua as a young cultivator, they made outrageous demands.

Mo Hua gave them spirit stones, but they said it wasn't enough.

They also demanded he leave the carriage and horses behind.

Worse still, they happened to spot Bai Zi Xi and blurted out:

"This girl must stay!"

The other bandits also showed greedy expressions: "This girl is beautiful—sell her in town, she'd fetch plenty of spirit stones."

"At least a few hundred…"

"Pathetic! It should be over a thousand!"

Mo Hua grew angry.

How dare they sell his junior sister?

Bai Zixi was even angrier.

Without a word, he drew his long spear, his pale golden spiritual energy surging; his figure flickered like a phantom, moving as if through an empty land, piercing the thighs of the front-line bandits, forcing them to kneel.

Then he sheathed his spear and punched them, one blow after another.

From drawing his spear to landing his first punch, it was all over in an instant.

The bandits erupted in chaos, then roared in fury:

"Such an arrogant little brat!"

"All of you, attack together!"

"Break them!"

"Sell them to human traffickers!"

…

The other bandits surged forward as one.

Some surrounded Bai Zixi; others charged toward Mo Hua.

Bai Zixi remained unfazed, spiritual energy surging, his fists striking with thunderous force, battling all sides.

He was, after all, a scion of a prominent clan, at the peak of Qi Refinement ninth layer, his cultivation techniques and spells peerless; he often trained his body movement with Mo Hua, so dealing with these rustic bandits was effortless.

Though numerous, these bandits fought individually, with no coordination or strategy among them, and one by one, they were defeated.

A few others charged toward Mo Hua.

Mo Hua sat atop the great white horse, flicked his fingers, and sent forth fireball spells that knocked down every approaching bandit.

There is no bandit a single fireball spell cannot solve.

If it doesn't work, use another one!

Only one bandit slipped through, exploiting a gap between the fireballs to close within a zhang of Mo Hua.

But before he could strike, the great white horse kicked out with its hind legs and sent him flying.

The bandit was kicked like a sandbag, slammed into the mountain wall, fell to the ground, and his bones shattered.

The great white nudged Mo Hua with its head, as if seeking praise.

Mo Hua also wrapped his arm around the great white's neck and smiled warmly.

"Let's pluck extra grass today—I'll give you a special meal!"

The great white let out a satisfied "Ssliu."

In the space of just a cup of tea, the entire bandit group collapsed, groaning and writhing on the ground.

A few tried to flee, but Mo Hua trapped them with Water Prison spells, and Bai Zisheng caught up and pierced each one with a single spear thrust.

Bai Zisheng was still furious. "Dare to lay hands on my sister?"

He punched the leading bandits again.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, deciding he too should stretch his limbs, drew his Thousand-Jin Staff, and joined in the beating.

He didn't kill them, but he beat them as if trying to.

Afterward, Bai Zisheng looked at their pitiful state and asked doubtfully:

"Isn't this a bit excessive?"

Mo Hua shook his head. "They're not good people. It's not excessive."

Bai Zisheng nodded. "True."

Mo Hua raised a small index finger and summed up:

"On a small scale, this is punishing evil and promoting good, acting with righteousness and courage; on a grand scale, this is contributing to the stability of the Xiao Huangzhou Realm…"

Bai Zisheng stared in astonishment:

"Mo Hua, you're incredible—just with your tongue, if you ever joined Dao Ting Si, you'd thrive."

He could turn beating up a group of bandits out of personal rage into a noble justification.

Mo Hua frowned. "I'm honest—I always speak the truth…"

"We're fellow sect members. Do you think I believe that?"

…

Bai Zi Xi watched the two bickering, a faint smile rising in her lotus-like eyes.

(End of Chapter)