Chapter 405: Nanyue City

Thus, they traveled, drew arrays, beat up bandits, fed Da Bai, and took in the local customs along the way.

Several months later, Mo Hua's group finally arrived at Nanyue City.

Nanyue City was larger than Tongxian City.

On a Shanfeng outside Nanyue City, Mo Hua gazed afar and roughly estimated that Nanyue City was about twice the size of Tongxian City.

The city gates were taller, yet more crude.

The arrays on them were not particularly profound.

Of course, that was from Mo Hua's perspective.

The city walls, aged and worn by wind and sun, were cracked and patchy.

Before entering the city, each person had to pay one spirit stone as an entry fee.

Not all Xiancheng charged entry fees.

Tongxian City did not.

On this journey, nearly half the Xiancheng did not either.

And even when they did charge, it was never this much.

One spirit stone was no small sum for an ordinary cultivator.

Especially here in Xiao Huang Zhou Jie, which looked even poorer than other places.

Mr. Zhuang, Puppet Old Man, and their three young disciples made five in total.

Mo Hua paid five spirit stones.

The gate guards took the spirit stones and let them pass.

They dared not trouble Mo Hua.

Because Da Bai, tall and massive, stood beside Mo Hua.

Cultivators who could afford such a spirit horse and ride in such a carriage were not to be trifled with.

Mo Hua and the others passed through the city gate and entered Nanyue City.

Inside Nanyue City was even larger, with wider roads.

But the stone paving was pitted from weathering, dusty, and most passing cultivators wore shabby clothes and bore weary expressions.

"Master, where are we going?"

Mo Hua, seated on Da Bai, turned to ask.

"First, find an inn to stay at."

"Alright."

Mo Hua asked a few cultivators, then followed the streets, turning left and right, until he reached a corner.

At the corner stood an inn, its old sign hanging above, bearing the four characters: "Nanyue Inn."

Nanyue differed from the city's name, Nanyue, by only one character.

The inn was neither luxurious nor crowded, and looked neat and clean.

Mo Hua and the others checked in at Nanyue Inn.

They registered, and the waiter brought tea.

Mo Hua then told the waiter:

"Feed my Da Bai horse!"

"Got it!"

The waiter called out, then asked: "Young brother, what kind of fodder do you use?"

"Is there a difference in fodder?" Mo Hua asked.

"There is—ordinary, superior, and supreme grade. Prices differ, quality differs, but you get what you pay for."

The waiter explained with sharp, fluent speech.

Mo Hua asked the prices and found even the supreme grade wasn't expensive, so he declared boldly:

"Feed it the best!"

Xiao Huang Zhou Jie was desolate; during these days of travel, Mo Hua hadn't gathered any good grass, so Da Bai's diet had been poor and it had grown thin.

Though it still looked tall and sturdy, Mo Hua knew Da Bai had definitely lost weight.

"Got it!"

The waiter happily went off to fetch the fodder.

Mo Hua went over and patted Da Bai. "Wait, you'll get something delicious—eat up!"

Da Bai nodded its head, stretched out its tongue, and affectionately licked Mo Hua's face.

Mo Hua smiled warmly.

Now that Da Bai had its meal prepared, it was time for him to eat too.

The inn had food and wine ready.

Mr. Zhuang and the others were already seated.

Bai Zisheng, seeing Mo Hua, said with envy and confusion:

"Why is Da Bai so fond of you?"

Mo Hua replied confidently: "Because I feed it!"

Bai Zisheng shook his head. "No."

Da Bai didn't eat just anyone's food.

At least when he fed it, Da Bai clearly showed disdain.

Mo Hua asked: "Is it because your food tastes terrible, so Da Bai dislikes you?"

Bai Zisheng frowned. "Aren't they all just grass? What's the difference?"

"Of course they're different. Some grass is tasty, some is disgusting."

Bai Zisheng scowled. "I'm not a horse—how would I know which grass is tasty and which is disgusting?"

He stared at Mo Hua in shock. "You didn't taste it yourself first, then feed it to Da Bai, did you?"

Mo Hua gave Bai Zisheng a look of mild disdain. "I'm not you—why would I be that stupid?"

"I'm your senior brother—how dare you call me stupid?"

"Who said senior brothers can't be stupid?"

……

The two chattered on for a while longer.

Bai Zisheng still felt doubtful, and couldn't help asking again:

"How do you actually know which grass is tasty and which is disgusting?"

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then whispered:

"I'm only telling you this because you're my senior brother…"

"Mm-hmm!" Bai Zisheng nodded eagerly.

Mo Hua then pointed out:

"Plucking grass has its own rules."

"Grass growing on the ground looks mostly the same color to the eye…"

"But when you scan it with your spiritual sense, the 'aura' of each blade differs."

"Some grass is pale blue—rich in spiritual energy; some is tender green—indicating freshness; some is ink green—meaning it's grown old; some is red—hinting at malevolence; some is purple or black—that means it's poisonous…"

"When feeding Da Bai, pluck only the tender grass. Even ink-green grass shouldn't be too old. Of course, grass infused with spiritual energy is best…"

Mo Hua glanced at Bai Zisheng again, coolly.

"The grass you plucked looked the same, but its aura was red and green—and some was even poisonous. No wonder Da Bai won't tolerate you…"

Bai Zisheng's eyes widened in awe.

Plucking grass could involve so much knowledge.

"How did you learn all this?" Bai Zisheng couldn't help asking.

Mo Hua looked puzzled. "How else would you learn? Just look with your eyes, scan with your spiritual sense—you know right away."

Bai Zisheng's expression grew complicated.

Fine, he'd been outdone again by his little junior brother…

But then he frowned again.

Is that really how it works?

He'd used his spiritual sense before too—he'd never seen all those colorful auras Mo Hua described…

Was his spiritual sense too weak?

Bai Zisheng puzzled over the matter of plucking grass.

Mo Hua, meanwhile, was feasting heartily.

He'd been busy all day and was very hungry.

As he ate, Mo Hua suddenly remembered something and asked Mr. Zhuang:

"Master, can I go find Teacher Yan?"

Mr. Zhuang took a small sip of wine and nodded. "You may."

He then instructed: "Zisheng and Zixi will accompany you."

"Mm." Mo Hua nodded.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi both bowed. "Yes, Master."

After the meal, Mr. Zhuang rested at the inn, while Old Puppet watched the carriage.

Mo Hua, Bai Zisheng, and Bai Zixi wandered through Nanyue City, searching for Teacher Yan.

Mo Hua began by approaching from the perspective of a formation master.

Teacher Yan was a formation master—if he'd come to Nanyue City, he'd likely have interacted with other formation masters.

Mo Hua asked the inn servant and learned the locations of several famous formation masters' dwellings.

Among them, one or two were graded first-grade formation masters.

Several others could draw first-grade nine-stripe formations but had not crossed the threshold or been officially graded—they were merely "pseudo first-grade" formation masters.

Mo Hua memorized their addresses, drew lines on the map of Nanyue City in sequence, and visited each one in turn.

The threshold for formation masters was high.

Not only was it a matter of talent—the threshold before their dwellings was also formidable.

At least, the three young cultivators could not pass it.

Though they appeared dignified, they were clearly too young and looked far too immature.

The gatekeepers stopped them from entering, but remained polite, saying only:

"Master is receiving esteemed guests—unfortunate to disturb."

Mo Hua asked: "When will he finish receiving them?"

"That… is hard to say," the gatekeeper hesitated.

After all, so many people waited in line to see their master—each visitor took days, and the queue stretched over a month.

Besides, there was no guarantee the master would even have time to meet these three young cultivators.

He assumed Mo Hua and the others had come to beg for discipleship.

This kind of thing happens often.

The gatekeeper politely said, "Young friends, please return."

With no other option, Mo Hua took out the Tian Shu Ring to prove he was truly and undeniably a First-Rank Array Master.

The instant he pulled out the Tian Shu Ring, Mo Hua clearly felt the gatekeeper's whole body tremble, his voice trembling along with it:

"You, you… this…"

He was at a loss for words, unsure what to say.

How could there be a First-Rank Array Master who was only about ten years old?

The gatekeeper thought it was fake, but dared not gamble.

He was himself an Array Apprentice, having taken a master to learn arraycraft.

If it were fake, stopping him would be fine.

But if it were real, he would have truly offended a First-Rank Array Master—he'd truly be packing up and leaving…

Besides, even if it were fake, anyone who knew to fake it with the Tian Shu Ring couldn't be ordinary—they'd at least be an "insider."

The gatekeeper bowed respectfully:

"Young brother, please wait a moment—I'll go inform my master."

Less than a cup of tea passed before a well-dressed, half-gray-haired array master, seemingly the master of the estate, stepped out, smiling:

"Which young friend here is a First-Rank Array Master?"

Mo Hua showed the Tian Shu Ring again.

The array master glanced at the small Mo Hua, then at the Tian Shu Ring on his thumb—slightly too large—then back at Mo Hua, then back at the ring…

Clearly, he was stunned for a moment…

He had heard from the gatekeeper that a child of such young age had come to visit as a First-Rank Array Master; at first, he naturally didn't believe it.

Now, even after seeing the Tian Shu Ring with his own eyes, he remained half-skeptical.

Only after he invited Mo Hua inside and personally witnessed him effortlessly drawing a First-Rank array did he finally believe.

After exchanging a few words on array theory, he was thoroughly convinced.

His attitude toward Mo Hua became extremely courteous, even reverent.

Learning knows no order; the one who masters it is honored.

This young Mr. truly possesses the skill of a First-Rank Array Master.

(End of Chapter)