Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 677 – A Noble One

In the prefecture of Ganxue, grand clans dined amidst the sound of bells and jade, and the land gleamed with opulence—but the smaller immortal towns at its borders still lived in constant hardship, never sure of tomorrow.

For minor clans like the Qian family, they could still throw their weight around in a place like Tongxian City. But here, near Ganxue Prefecture, they were under heavy pressure—no different from ordinary rogue cultivators.

Suddenly, Mo Hua recalled what he had once overheard in that mountain cave on Mount Dahei, when capturing the Qian family's old patriarch. The man had been speaking to the now-deceased clan head, Qian Hong:

"...This world runs on the law of the jungle. Big fish eat small fish. Small fish eat shrimp."

"The cultivation world is no different. Rogues get squeezed by minor clans, minor clans are crushed by middle clans, and middle clans get suppressed by the top-tier noble houses."

"In other words: rogue cultivators feed minor clans, minor clans feed the middle clans, and those in turn feed the elite houses…"

"At the root of it, they're all feeding off the blood of us low-level rogue cultivators…"

...

The old patriarch of the Qian family was a wicked man. He built a demonic stronghold on Mount Hei, raised heretical cultivators, slaughtered innocents to refine pills, and committed countless atrocities in his pursuit of immortality.

Yet some of the things he said… were hard to refute.

Mo Hua's heart was conflicted. His expression was tinged with sorrow.

Master Gu, sitting nearby, observed this boy—so young, yet already carrying such compassion in his gaze. His pupils narrowed slightly. He poured Mo Hua another glass of fruit wine himself.

Mo Hua suddenly thought of another question:

"Master Gu, these noble families chase profits… but theoretically, since Lone Mountain's rogue cultivators once made a good living crafting 'formation implements,' then formation implements must be profitable, right?"

"So why did they choose to drain the mines dry and forge extravagant spiritual tools instead?"

"Wouldn't producing more formation implements, making arrays more widespread, bring both profit and benefit?"

"Is it simply because luxurious spiritual tools make more money?"

Master Gu nodded and sighed.

"Naturally…"

"Ordinary formation implements are used by the poor and lowly. Extravagant spiritual tools are for the wealthy and noble."

"Even among cultivators at the same Qi Refining level, a thousand rogues still don't spend as much as one noble heir."

"Our Gu family, while owning a few businesses, has never been wildly profitable. Among noble houses, we're modest at best. The ancestors have always been strict about not wasting resources or showing off."

"But other families… especially those with spirit mines and sprawling industries… they're another story."

"A single luxurious Dao robe worn by one of their direct descendants could probably feed and clothe a thousand Qi Refining cultivators for an entire year…"

Master Gu's expression was heavy as he spoke.

Mo Hua frowned.

"Are those extravagant tools that hard to craft?"

Master Gu shook his head.

"Honestly, the craftsmanship itself is very basic. Their combat or defensive functions are weak—sometimes even sacrificed in favor of appearance."

Mo Hua was puzzled.

"Then what makes them expensive?"

Master Gu sighed.

"The word: 'status.'"

"Status?"

"Yes," said Master Gu. "Whether the materials are rare, the origin of the craftsman, the lineage of the technique, whether it's a limited edition—these things all matter."

"Without all those 'credentials,' even if you replicated the item perfectly, it would still be seen as a counterfeit. Not worth a thing."

"That's why ordinary craftsmen can't touch this market."

"And furthermore, noble houses don't want to promote formation implements or make arrays common."

Mo Hua blinked in surprise.

Master Gu explained:

"What they want is monopoly—monopoly over array legacies and over refining resources."

"If array techniques are widespread, then a sixteen-rune array flag would only sell for 300 spirit stones."

"But if they monopolize arrays, then even an eleven-rune flag can fetch 300."

"Less cost, more profit."

"As long as they control the knowledge, they can name whatever price they like."

"Why put effort into improving the utility of formation tools, or promoting formation knowledge, when they can just lie back and watch the spirit stones roll in?"

"Those efforts bring little return. So the current state is what we have…"

"Array techniques are locked up by noble families—hoarded as private treasures, shelved away, or even left to gather dust in corners."

"Ordinary cultivators have no access to arrays and are forced to depend on the noble clans. And ordinary formation masters, without array legacies, have no choice but to become vassals."

Master Gu's tone turned grave, his expression wistful.

Mo Hua frowned deeply, silent, lost in thought.

Master Gu gave him a sideways glance, then chuckled and said:

"Let's not talk about such gloomy topics. I invited you here to enjoy yourself, not to ruin the mood. I hope you'll forgive me."

He poured Mo Hua another drink.

Mo Hua drank quietly, saying nothing more until the banquet ended.

As they parted, Master Gu simply said:

"Next rest period, I'll have someone deliver the finished formation implements to the Gu family's main residence in Qingzhou City. You can come pick them up whenever it's convenient."

Mo Hua cupped his hands and bowed:

"Thank you, Master Gu."

"No need to be so formal."

At the entrance of the Xianhe Pavilion, Master Gu waved him off and watched as Mo Hua disappeared into the distance, then sighed and turned to leave.

Afterward, he made a few purchases of formation-crafting materials in Qingzhou City, then took a carriage back to Lone Mountain City.

Inside the carriage, his apprentice Da Chuan sat with him.

Da Chuan was born and raised in Lone Mountain. He'd studied refining since childhood and had rarely left the city. This was his first time seeing a grand city like Qingzhou, and it had left quite an impression.

In the carriage, Da Chuan sighed with admiration.

"Master, Qingzhou City is so much more prosperous than Lone Mountain…"

Master Gu gave a faint hum of agreement—but there were things he didn't say aloud.

Lone Mountain used to be prosperous too. Not quite as grand as Qingzhou, but once filled with bustle, laughter, and life.

Now, Qingzhou was more magnificent than ever.

But Lone Mountain… was left forever desolate.

And the cultivation world didn't have just one Qingzhou.

It had countless Lone Mountains.

These were things Da Chuan, still young and inexperienced, didn't yet understand. So Master Gu chose not to explain.

The carriage rode on in silence for a while. Then Da Chuan suddenly remembered something. He glanced at Master Gu and whispered:

"Master, why are you… so respectful toward that young Lord Mo?"

Master Gu was a Golden Core cultivator, a Grade-3 refiner.

That Mo kid was only at early Foundation Establishment—young, frail-looking, clearly lacking in power.

While Da Chuan felt it was right to show respect to Lord Mo, his master had gone too far—lowering himself, traveling all the way to Qingzhou City, lingering at the Gu residence, and even spending his own spirit stones just to treat Mo Hua to a fish dinner.

Da Chuan couldn't wrap his head around it.

Master Gu simply replied:

"You don't understand…"

Da Chuan whispered:

"Is that young Lord Mo someone really important?"

Master Gu thought for a moment, then suddenly shook his head, frowning.

"I'm not entirely sure either…"

Da Chuan was startled.

Master Gu's eyes reflected a thoughtful look.

"I asked a cousin of mine to check with the clan. That young Lord Mo—though he often visits the Gu family—seems to have no blood ties with us at all…"

"He is respected by Madam Shangguan, but apparently, he's not related to either the Shangguan or Wenren families."

"He entered the Great Void Sect, and claims publicly to be a 'rogue cultivator'…"

"Rogue cultivator?" Da Chuan blinked.

Master Gu nodded slightly.

"But…" Da Chuan hesitated. "If he really is just a rogue cultivator, then didn't we go out of our way to please him for nothing?"

"No." Master Gu's gaze sharpened. "How could an ordinary rogue cultivator possibly receive such kindness from both the Gu and Shangguan families? And how could he have entered the gates of the Great Void Sect?"

"But what if… what if he really is just a rogue cultivator?" Da Chuan asked weakly.

"If he really is a rogue cultivator…" Master Gu's expression turned solemn,

"Then that would be an even better thing."

Da Chuan was confused, unable to understand.

Master Gu let out a deep breath and sighed with meaning:

"There are certain hardships in this world that children of noble clans will never understand…"

"If you haven't lived it yourself, haven't seen it with your own eyes, haven't survived at the bottom—then you will never truly know it."

Da Chuan looked stunned. He nodded as if he understood… though he didn't quite.

Master Gu's eyes narrowed slightly as Mo Hua's clear and compassionate gaze came back to mind. He murmured under his breath:

"That young lord… may very well be our 'benefactor'…"

After returning to the sect, Mo Hua was weighed down with thoughts.

He realized he'd overlooked something important.

He had been so focused on sects, noble families, legacies, demonic cultivators, human traffickers, and evil gods…

But he had never stopped to consider:

How were the cultivators of the small prefectures and minor cities around Ganxue actually living?

Suddenly, something his mother once told him echoed in his ears:

"It's not just formation masters—every cultivator is the same. Once a person starts climbing upward, they never look down again…"

Cultivators sought the Dao—truth of the world.

But if they couldn't even see the truths of this world, the myriad forms of life, how could they possibly understand the true Heavenly Dao?

If you always look to the heavens—

How would you ever know whether your feet still stand upon solid ground?

Walking through the Great Void Sect, Mo Hua looked up at the vast sky…

Then looked down at the earth beneath his feet…

Even stomped his foot a few times.

And gave a slight nod.

Seven days later—not even a full cycle of rest—

While cultivating within the sect, Mo Hua unexpectedly received a storage pouch.

Inside were three kinds of formation implements: formation disks, formation flags, and formation anchors—twenty of each—freshly refined by Master Gu.

They had been delivered to the Gu family in Qingzhou, and then specially sent to the Great Void Sect by Wenren Wan.

Mo Hua was pleasantly surprised.

He hadn't expected Master Gu to finish refining the implements so quickly—much less personally arrange for them to be delivered.

It clearly showed how seriously he took the matter.

Grateful, Mo Hua silently resolved:

"If I ever get the chance, I'll make sure to help Master Gu and his people."

During his free time, Mo Hua began studying the formation implements.

They looked intricate but were structurally simple.

As a formation master—and since he'd "borrowed" (read: copied) their designs from a refining manual—Mo Hua understood them at a glance.

Inscribing formations onto them wasn't difficult either.

These were just basic implements. Mo Hua tried drawing a few formations on them and ran some tests—soon getting the hang of it.

Sure, he could wield ink with his divine sense and paint formations directly on the ground in one swift, elegant motion.

But that was too showy.

If he used it too often, people would start being wary—and that would put him at a disadvantage.

So, Mo Hua decided to start using regular "formation implements" for his arrays.

That way, he could also downplay his formation "talent."

He would blend in as just an ordinary formation master—make it easier to get along with his peers.

That way, people wouldn't constantly freak out around him.

He wouldn't have to keep explaining himself either.

(He was not in the mood for that.)

Now that the implements were refined and marked with formations, it was time to test them in the field.

So Mo Hua secretly contacted Gu Changhuai:

"Uncle Gu, I found a lead on a wicked cultivator—he's killed before and is still on the run. Could you help me post a bounty?"

Gu Changhuai was silent for a long moment, then replied:

"Where did you get this lead?"

Mo Hua:

"A fellow Daoist told me. He just happened to stumble on it by chance…"

Gu Changhuai:

"That 'fellow Daoist' wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"

Mo Hua firmly denied:

"How could that be?"

Gu Changhuai knew that once Mo Hua started dodging, not a single word from him would be true.

He didn't bother asking further and just said:

"What realm? What name? What did he do?"

Mo Hua:

"Mid Foundation Establishment. Nickname 'Cross-River Dragon.' All I know is he's killed someone—I'm not sure about the rest…"

"Uncle Gu, could you maybe… dig through the records at the Dao Tribunal? See what else he's guilty of?"

Gu Changhuai was speechless.

At that moment, he felt like Mo Hua was the official investigator, and he was the low-level grunt doing all the paperwork…

Still, Gu Changhuai had no choice but to go sift through the case files.

Mo Hua waited patiently.

A while later, Gu Changhuai reported back:

"He's committed quite a few crimes. Killed people in the mountains, robbed folks at the ferry, sold some banned pills…"

Mo Hua asked,

"Did he ever… sell cultivators?"

Gu Changhuai replied,

"No evidence of that so far…"

Mo Hua declared, righteous fury burning:

"What a wicked man!"

Then he added:

"I think he's worth at least a thousand contribution points!"

Gu Changhuai nearly exploded.

This little rascal—his scheming was so loud the entire Ganxue Tribunal could hear it echoing through the halls!

"Now you want to set the bounty yourself?" Gu Changhuai said irritably.

Mo Hua replied righteously:

"It's not called setting the price—it's called promoting justice!"

"I'm going to accept the bounty, work together with my fellow disciples, and bring this villain to justice! Shouldn't the Tribunal reward such righteous acts?"

"Punish evil and uphold virtue!"

Gu Changhuai was speechless.

You're calling that a "reasonable reward"?

This kid just opened his lion's mouth—asking for a thousand points off the bat!

Gu Changhuai said,

"Five hundred."

Mo Hua was shocked.

"Uncle Gu! Who haggles like that? You slashed half the price in one go?!"

…Even though that's exactly how he usually haggles.

"Nine hundred!"

Mo Hua took a step back.

"Five hundred!"

Gu Changhuai didn't play by Mo Hua's script at all—he clamped down on the price hard, refusing to budge.

"Eight hundred!"

"Five hundred and ten."

Mo Hua sighed in defeat.

"Uncle Gu… you're so stingy…"

A dignified Dao Tribunal Supervisor, and you're raising the price ten points at a time—doesn't that feel a little embarrassing?

Gu Changhuai remained unmoved.

"This is to teach you that contribution points don't come easy—every single one is precious."

Mo Hua huffed.

"It's not like I haven't taken bounties before! A mid-stage Foundation Establishment criminal—I know how much they're worth!"

"At least seven-fifty!"

"Five-twenty…"

...

After a lengthy round of "honorable bargaining," the bounty was finally settled at six hundred contribution points.

If any accomplices or major leads turned up, there would be bonus rewards on top.

Mo Hua reluctantly agreed.

Six hundred points, split five ways—that's 120 per person.

Not great, not terrible.

A hundred-plus wasn't much, but he'd done his best.

Afterward, Mo Hua and Gu Changhuai began "plotting" how to get the bounty posted—and into Mo Hua's hands.

"Tomorrow night, at the quarter-hour past midnight, sharp. The Dao Tribunal will post the bounty. Add these four tags to it: Foundation Establishment early stage, Grade-2 Formation Master, Water Prison Technique, Invisibility Technique."

"Be quick. If someone else grabs it, don't blame me."

Gu Changhuai sent him the message.

Then he added:

"And remember—delete this message afterward. Don't leave any evidence."

Mo Hua nodded repeatedly and replied:

"Relax, Uncle Gu! I'm good at this—I won't leave behind any 'criminal evidence' for you!"

Gu Changhuai: "..."

Why does this kid make it sound like I'm covering up his crimes…

Gu Changhuai sighed and stopped replying.

Mo Hua memorized the details—then promptly deleted the message.

Not just the magnetic ink and unstable magnetic runes—even the Secondary Thunder Runes were wiped.

When it came to this kind of thing, Mo Hua was a real pro.

The next night, as soon as the hour of the Rat struck midnight, Mo Hua didn't even bother practicing formations.

He held the Great Void Token early, fully focused, watching the Bounty Ledger.

There were countless entries in the Bounty Ledger—diagrams and magnetic listings filling the scroll.

At exactly the quarter-hour past midnight, one of them flashed—a new bounty appeared.

Mo Hua's divine sense was razor sharp. In just an instant, he spotted keywords like:

"Water Prison Technique," "Invisibility Technique," "Formation Master"…

With a light sweep of his divine sense, like a dragonfly skimming water, he saw the name:

"Cross-River Dragon."

That's the one!

Mo Hua confirmed the details, then struck like lightning—clicked Apply in a blink.

On the other end, Gu Changhuai, seeing Mo Hua's name, immediately hit Approve.

The bounty had barely gone live—when it disappeared again.

At the same time, a number of Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Great Void Sect, who were watching the bounty board like starving wolves, happened to catch a glimpse.

But before they could even read it properly—

Poof. Gone.

They were left utterly bewildered.

"What the heck? Wasn't that a new bounty?"

"I didn't even get to read it—how'd it vanish already?"

"Damn it—who was it? How are their hands so fast? No—how's their divine sense so fast?! I blinked and it was gone…"

(End of this Chapter)