Arrays of Immortality

Chapter 1: Mo Hua

Year 20,022 of the Dao Calendar, 10th day of the 9th month.

Tongxian City, outside Tongxian Sect, on the mountain.

Ten-year-old Mo Hua, wearing the plain outer disciple robes, sat listlessly behind a large stone at the foot of the mountain. In his hand, he held some grass roots, his head lowered as he drew complex patterns on the ground.

At the time of the mao hour (around 5-7 AM), disciples of the sect began to ascend the mountain in pairs, chatting and laughing.

A chubby boy dressed in the sect's outer robe, adorned with expensive jade accessories, his face round with small eyes, accompanied by two or three attendants, found Mo Hua, who was joyfully drawing something behind the stone.

The chubby boy looked around, and when he saw no sect instructors, he cautiously shouted:

"Mo Hua!"

Mo Hua looked up, revealing a delicate face like a painting, with clear eyes like a pool of water.

The chubby boy lowered his voice and asked, "Did you take care of it?"

Mo Hua, acting older than his age, patted his chest, "Don't worry, I'll handle it," then pulled several arrays from his storage bag, with red ink on white paper, and handed them to the chubby boy.

"Check if there's anything wrong."

The chubby boy solemnly took them, flipping through the drawings. After a moment, he frowned and said, "I don't understand..."

Mo Hua patiently explained, "The assignment given by the instructor was to draw basic Five Elements array patterns. I've drawn them for you and intentionally made six mistakes so the instructor won't notice these aren't your own drawings..."

"Six mistakes... Isn't that a bit too many?"

Mo Hua silently stared at him.

The chubby boy quickly realized his error and reflected, "One should never be too greedy. It's good enough if I can hand in the assignment. If it's done too well, it might raise suspicion. If the instructor finds out, and my father hears about it, he will definitely beat me. It's just not worth the trouble..."

Mo Hua nodded, "As expected of Young Master An, you figured it out so quickly!"

The chubby boy handed Mo Hua two spirit stones, "Mo Ge'er, you really know I'm clever! Here's the spirit stones. Next time the instructor assigns array patterns, I'll come to you!"

After putting the arrays in his chest, he quickly ran up the mountain.

Mo Hua carefully stored the two spirit stones, then grabbed another piece of grass root and continued drawing on the ground.

A moment later, another slender young master appeared, waving a fan made of golden paper. He had a sharp expression and more jade pendants on him.

Mo Hua handed him an array diagram, and the young master took a glance before signaling his attendant to step forward. The attendant handed Mo Hua two spirit stones.

The young master took the array diagram but didn't leave immediately. He suddenly closed his fan and arrogantly said, "I'm also quite skilled in array formations, but I don't have time for such basic patterns, so I asked you to do it."

Mo Hua didn't bother responding, continuing to draw with the grass root.

The young master, a little annoyed, sneered, "I heard that among the Qi Refining Stage disciples of Tongxian Sect, you're the best at drawing arrays. I wonder how I compare to you. We should have a contest sometime."

Mo Hua thought to himself, you've already asked me to help you with your array assignments, and now you're claiming your skills are better?

But following his principle of being polite, Mo Hua raised his head and flattered, "Of course, your skills are much higher, Young Master. The Qian family is the number one clan in Tongxian City, and their inheritance in array formations is unmatched by any other sect."

The young master's expression softened slightly, and he asked, "So, who do you think among the Qi Refining disciples of Tongxian Sect could compare to me in terms of array skills?"

"There are some..." Mo Hua answered.

The young master, displeased, asked, "Who are they?"

"Well, for example, me..." Of course, Mo Hua didn't say this aloud.

"There are too many to list at the moment."

The young master was visibly angry.

"This is a good thing!" Mo Hua said with a straight face.

The young master sneered, "I'm from a more prestigious family, I have more spirit stones, and my array skills are better than others. Are you trying to say I'm talentless and can't compare to others? What's good about that?"

Mo Hua replied, "Even if a cultivator from Tongxian City is extremely talented, if they don't join the Qian family's Wanbao Tower, won't they be making weapons, refining pills, and drawing arrays for your family in the end?"

"Think about it, you're just in the Qi Refining stage, and already there are Foundation Establishment cultivators working for you. You're just a first-tier array master, and already second-tier array masters obey your commands. Isn't that impressive? The stronger the cultivators under you, the more it shows your abilities!"

The young master was stunned for a moment, then suddenly understood, "It seems like that makes sense!"

"Understand now?" Mo Hua asked.

The young master nodded, raising his head higher as he looked at the disciples below, "Good! Good! No matter how talented you are, no matter how hard you cultivate, in the end, you'll still be working for my Qian family!"

With a smug look on his face, the young master proudly walked off.

After the young master left, Mo Hua continued practicing the array formations on the ground.

Before long, a few wealthy disciples arrived, paying in spirit stones for several of Mo Hua's array diagrams. When the transaction was done, Mo Hua had collected twelve spirit stones.

For a wandering cultivator, twelve spirit stones was already a fair amount, but for actual cultivation, it was still far from enough.

Mo Hua sighed, a trace of helplessness in his young face.

For bottom-tier cultivators, there was no hope for cultivation...

In the first year of the Dao calendar, over twenty thousand years ago, the Dao Court, the greatest force in the cultivation world, unified the Nine Realms of cultivation, granting titles to families and sects, establishing a unified rank system, and regulating the ranks of cultivators.

The Dao Court also issued the "Dao Law" to restrain cultivators, prohibiting excessive killings, robbery, and pillaging.

With this, the cultivation world flourished for over twenty thousand years, reaching its peak, spanning vast territories, and the number of cultivators reached astronomical numbers.

However, while the Dao Court prospered, with aristocratic families enjoying great wealth and sects ruling over territories, it was the lowly wandering cultivators who had no backing, struggling to survive, with little hope for advancement.

The cultivation world had thrived for over twenty thousand years. Ordinary mortals without spiritual roots had gradually been eliminated, leaving only cultivators with spiritual roots, capable of cultivating.

However, as the number of cultivators grew, the consumption of spiritual energy increased, leading to the depletion of the world's spiritual energy.

Now, to cultivate, one needs both inheritance and spirit stones.

But the wealthy families occupy the spiritual mines, and low-level wandering cultivators are starved of spirit stones. The large sects monopolize the inheritance, leaving no path for ordinary wandering cultivators.

In Tongxian City, the vast majority of wandering cultivators neither have inheritance nor enough spirit stones. For their entire lives, they can only remain as Qi Refining cultivators.

The Qi Refining stage is merely a humble, insignificant existence under the vastness of the Dao.

Mo Hua is just one of these countless insignificant cultivators.

And most likely, he will be one for his entire life.

A slight bitterness appeared on Mo Hua's young face.

The Dao may be equal, but cultivation is definitely not equal...

Mo Hua is a second-level Qi Refining cultivator, born into a family of Qi Refining cultivators. His parents are both in the Qi Refining stage.

His father, Mo Shan, makes a living hunting monsters, often returning covered in wounds. His mother works in the kitchen at the meal hall, often suffering from lung pain and dry cough due to the constant exposure to the furnace fire.

Despite their hardships, Mo Hua's parents saved every spirit stone they could to allow him to study in the outer sect of the Tongxian Sect.

But no matter how hard Mo Hua cultivates, his inferior spiritual root, although slightly better than most, will still leave him with nothing but ordinary talent in a world full of geniuses.

No matter how much he practices, he is destined to only remain a Qi Refining cultivator.

His family's condition is poor, without enough spirit stones, and Mo Hua will be forced to leave the sect once he reaches the sixth level of Qi Refining, to find a trade to make a living.

But Mo Hua is naturally weak!

The cultivation methods that Qi Refining cultivators rely on, such as weapon crafting or monster hunting, usually require a strong body. A naturally weak Mo Hua might not even be able to find a job to support himself.

What if he gets married and has children in the future? The burden will only grow, and all the spirit stones will go into supporting the family.

Without spirit stones for cultivation, his progress will be halted, and he will forever remain a Qi Refining cultivator.

Just like all the poor wandering cultivators in Tongxian City.

Just like all the bottom-tier cultivators in this world of cultivation.

A lifetime, only as a Qi Refining cultivator!

Mo Hua sighed and adjusted his mood, then headed up to the sect for class. After a day of cultivation, Mo Hua returned to his disciple's quarters, read a cultivation book, and lay on his bed by the time the midnight hour arrived.

As he closed his eyes, a broken stele appeared in his sea of consciousness.

The stele had no words, but it seemed that from the moment Mo Hua saw it, he knew its name:

The Dao Stele!

(End of Chapter)