The Quest for Immortality-Chapter 1270: Formation Flow Manuscript (3)

Mo Hua nodded slightly, then carefully placed the Formation manuscript into the Storage Ring.

This was the master’s possession.

Mo Hua cherished it deeply.

And Elder Master Xun...

Mo Hua hadn’t expected that Elder Master Xun had once debated the Dao and discussed Formations with the master.

So does this mean Elder Master Xun and the master might share some other connections?

Mo Hua’s thoughts stirred, and he suddenly realized something.

The concept of "Formation Flow" was clearly beyond his learning capabilities at the moment.

Now that Elder Master Xun handed the master’s Formation manuscript to him, and casually pointed out that it was the work of "an old acquaintance surnamed Zhuang," could it be he was testing him?

"Did the old gentleman figure out that the master is my teacher?"

Mo Hua muttered in his heart.

Still, it seemed not to be a big deal...

Quite a few people seemed to know about this.

Aside from the Uncle, there’s also the senior apprentice sister’s mother—who is, of course, his Aunt—Senior Situ of Mystery Valley, and those Feathered Immortal Cultivators glimpsed during the change at Li Mountain City.

They are all Great cultivators, their cultivation profound and business busy.

He’s just an insignificant little cultivator—probably forgotten by them shortly after encountering him.

Elder Master Xun, having previously sat with the master to debate the Dao, likely bore no enmity and harbored no malice toward him.

At least Mo Hua felt no ill will from him.

Moreover, the elder even gifted him the master’s manuscript.

In daily interactions, he treated Mo Hua exceptionally well and passed on knowledge and teachings like a benefactor.

Elder Master Xun truly is a great good person!

Mo Hua nodded in agreement.

Right now, he decided to devote himself to studying Formations. Should the opportunity arise in the future, he would repay the elder’s kindness.

A drop of water should be repaid with a fountain—that was the principle of conduct his mother taught him.

Having thought it through, he flipped through Formation Books for a while, studied Formations for some time, and when 1 p.m. arrived, his Divine Sense sank back into the Taoist Stele to continue practicing Formations.

He needed to find a way to practice Formation more frequently and temper his Divine Sense.

Since he couldn’t go outside now, he could only rely on this clumsy method to refine his Divine Sense.

The goal was to break through the Heavenly Dao Laws’ seal as soon as possible, elevate his Divine Sense to Eighteen Patterns, and learn more advanced Formations.

...

Thus passed some calm days dedicated to studying Formations.

He visited Refining Demon Mountain a few times, tested the effectiveness of the Five Elements Origin Armor, formulated several Monster Hunting strategies, and then stopped going temporarily.

But on this particular day, while having his meal in the dining hall, Cheng Mo suddenly walked over with a bruised and swollen face.

Mo Hua froze, "Cheng Mo, did you get smacked by a bear again?"

"I’m not stupid; getting smacked once is bad enough—how could I let it happen twice..." Cheng Mo muttered, his expression carrying a hint of anger, "It’s those bastards from Sever Gold Sect."

Mo Hua’s gaze narrowed slightly, "Sever Gold Sect?"

"Yes." Cheng Mo sat down, mimicking Mo Hua as he took a bite out of a chicken leg, grumbling, "Junior Brother, you’ve not been back to the mountain these days, so you don’t know—Sever Gold Sect has been stirring up trouble with us..."

"Those little punks keep bothering us every other day."

"They dare not engage us directly but loiter sneakily nearby. When we kill a Monster Beast, they swarm in to snatch it."

"If we choose not to hunt Monster Beasts, they creep after us like flies."

Mo Hua frowned, "Doesn’t Refining Demon Mountain have rules? With their arrogance, aren’t the elders intervening?"

Cheng Mo replied, "They do intervene, but it’s useless. The Sever Gold Sect scoundrels are shameless gambit-mongers."

"They insist on claims like the Monster Beasts were their kills, or that we struck first and they were innocently drawn in..."

"Even their sect elders always shield them."

"When Sever Gold Sect disciples gain the upper hand, their elders muddle things through, saying boys will be boys—that playful skirmishes are normal and not worth fussing over."

"But if Sever Gold Sect suffers losses, those same elders accuse us Taixu disciples of lacking discipline and proper upbringing..."

"Our Taixu elders aren’t eloquent in rebutting them and end up incredibly infuriated."

"All the verbal sparring accomplishes nothing—the Sever Gold Sect disciples remain as they have been, indulging in these underhanded deeds..."

Cheng Mo sighed heavily, "Basically, rules only work on people who care about their face. For those shameless, rules mean absolutely nothing."

Cheng Mo sneered coldly but winced at his facial wounds, his pain forcing him to grimace.

Nonetheless, being a Body Cultivator, with skin as tough as hide, these injuries were insignificant.

Cheng Mo took another bite of meat and continued speaking:

"These wounds—I fought with Sever Gold Sect disciples while out Monster Hunting this morning after they tailed us again. I finally lost it and fought them head-on."

"Though I look battered, they fared much worse."

"I broke several of their legs."

"But I doubt that will stop them—they’ll likely be back at it the next time."

Mo Hua frowned slightly and said to Cheng Mo, "Next time during the rest period, I’ll enter the mountain myself and take a look."

"No need." Cheng Mo immediately objected, "You just focus on painting Formations. You’re Junior Brother; dealing with these little punks doesn’t require your involvement."

Cheng Mo understood that Mo Hua had been busy drawing Formations daily and did not wish to disturb him.

Furthermore, the troublemakers in Sever Gold Sect were mostly disciples in the Foundation Building Middle Stage—the same cohort as him and his companions.

No need for Mo Hua to step in personally.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and nodded, "All right then."

He truly was preoccupied lately.

That was because he faintly sensed that within his Sea of Consciousness, the restrictions imposed by the Heavenly Dao Laws were loosening considerably.

Perhaps his Realm had ascended high enough for it to seem not too outrageous.

Or maybe the Heavenly Dao Laws were "satiated," resulting in their gradual dispersal.

Mo Hua felt he might just breakthrough into Eighteen Patterns of Divine Sense very soon.

The matters surrounding Refining Demon Mountain, he would leave to Cheng Mo and the others to handle.

Although Cheng Mo appeared brash—and indeed was brash—he still possessed a sharp mind.

Furthermore, having been close companions with Mo Hua for so long, he had gained plenty of practical experience and picked up no small number of "shrewd" tricks.

Dealing with the arrogant Sever Gold Sect disciples, who relied on their strength to bully, was well within his capacity.

Thus, led by Cheng Mo, the Taixu Sect Disciples began engaging in open and covert conflicts with the disciples from the same cohort of Sever Gold Sect within Refining Demon Mountain.

After a month passed, Cheng Mo came to visit Mo Hua again, his expression somewhat dispirited.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t won.

Their victories, ultimately, amounted to nothing.

"Those Sever Gold Sect bastards are truly despicable—they resemble beasts more than humans. In Refining Demon Mountain, they do absolutely nothing productive but shadow us Taixu Sect disciples, stealing our Monster Beasts."

"At first, they’d still confront us for a few rounds head-on, but after realizing that our Gold-breaking Armor makes us formidable, they stopped fighting altogether."

"Now they behave like flies—when we hunt Monsters, they disrupt us."

"If we retaliate, they flee."

Cheng Mo was thoroughly disgusted by their behavior.

"Refining Demon Mountain’s entry fee costs one hundred Merit Points, yet they willingly squander it purely to harass us. Engaging in such vile acts of harming others to gain nothing themselves."

"Though we don’t fear them, their constant interference prevents us from successfully hunting Monsters or earning Merit Points. So, we can’t claim victory either..."

Cheng Mo sighed ruefully, frustration evident.

Mo Hua’s gaze darkened slightly.

This Sever Gold Sect truly was despicable.

"It’s fine..." Mo Hua took a sip of fruit wine, paused in thought, and calmly remarked, "They keep up their indecency because they haven’t been properly scared yet."

"Strike them hard enough, break some bones—they feel the pain, and they’ll cease their despicable conduct..."

Mo Hua’s eyes turned cold.