Tasting Knowledge

Someone was inquiring about formation masters. Elder Yu informed Mo Hua and cautioned him to be careful.

"Do not harbor malicious intentions towards others, but do not be defenceless against them too."

Mo Hua thought for a moment and felt that the suspecting him was unlikely. Unless one was familiar with him, ordinary cultivators wouldn't believe that a ten-year-old like him could draw a first-grade formation.

Instead, Mo Hua worried about Mr. Zhuang. He feared that if the Qian Family's suspicions fell on Mr. Zhuang, it would cause trouble for him.

Mo Hua went to see Mr. Zhuang and briefly explained the situation.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhuang just smiled and said, "Do what you believe is right; you need not worry about me."

"Will the Qian Family cause you trouble?"

"They won't find me."

"But what if they do find you?" Mo Hua still felt uneasy.

"'Originally nothing exists, where can dust alight?' They won't be able to find me," Mr. Zhuang said lightly.

Mo Hua nodded vaguely, feeling that Mr. Zhuang's words were ambiguous, not quite understanding what he meant...

But since Mr. Zhuang spoke with such assurance, Mo Hua felt reassured.

Mr. Zhuang was profound and unpredictable. He might not regard the Qian Family highly, but if their actions disturbed his peaceful cultivation, it wouldn't be good.

"How is your study of formations going?" Mr. Zhuang asked.

"I've learned the First-grade Melting Fire Controlling Spiritual Recovery Formation and the First-grade Fire-Wood Twin Birth Recovery Formation. I've used both on the furnace," Mo Hua said happily.

Mr. Zhuang nodded approvingly. "Well done."

Mo Hua smiled and then asked, "Sir, what formations should I learn next?"

"Start with some recovery formations, learn casually," Mr. Zhuang said. "When you break through the seventh layer of Qi refining and see the mystery formations in your sea of consciousness, then plan your next steps."

"Alright," Mo Hua nodded.

What mystery formations would be encountered at the bottleneck of the Heaven Extending Technique's seventh layer of Qi refining?

Mo Hua was both eager and anxious.

After bidding farewell to Mr. Zhuang, Mo Hua returned home as usual, but on the way, he ran into An Xiaofu.

"What a coincidence," Mo Hua greeted An Xiaofu.

An Xiaofu hung his head, looking troubled. "Not really. My grandfather and father asked me to wait for you nearby."

"Oh?" Mo Hua was surprised.

"They wanted me to pretend to casually meet you and get closer to you," An Xiaofu explained. "But you're so clever, you probably figured it out at first glance, so I didn't bother pretending. My grandfather and father also told me..."

An Xiaofu spilled out everything his grandfather and father had instructed him to do, what he could say and what he couldn't.

Mo Hua was speechless.

After An Xiaofu finished speaking, he felt much relieved.

He felt that he had completed his task. He had said everything his grandfather and father had asked him to say, and he had done everything they had instructed him to do.

Although the method might have differed slightly from their instructions, the result was the same.

An Xiaofu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, by the way, here's a little gift. My grandfather asked me to give it to you. Please accept it," An Xiaofu handed over a storage bag containing some formation books, several formation pens, and quite a bit of spiritual ink.

It wasn't particularly valuable, but it was clearly carefully selected according to his preferences, showing a lot of thought.

Mo Hua hesitated to accept.

An Xiaofu just stuffed it into Mo Hua's hands. "If I take it back, my grandfather will scold me. If I give it to you, he'll probably praise me. It's not that expensive anyway. Just take it; it's dumb not to take advantage of a good deal."

Mo Hua thought for a moment and nodded, "Indeed."

Not wanting to be called "dumb," Mo Hua accepted the gift and said, "Let's go, I'll treat you to something!"

An Xiaofu waved his hand, "How can I let you spend?"

"It's not an expense," Mo Hua said, "It's on my family!"

An Xiaofu was curious and thought since there was nothing interesting at home, he might as well follow Mo Hua to have some fun.

Following Mo Hua through several streets and around a few corners, An Xiaofu saw a restaurant at the intersection. Banners fluttered in the wind, with a spacious area, clean tables, and benches.

Diners gathered in groups of two or three, either eating heartily or drinking heavily, clinking glasses and enjoying themselves.

The aroma of meat and wine filled the air, carried by the breeze to a distance.

This was an atmosphere An Xiaofu had never seen before.

"Mom," Mo Hua waved from a distance.

Liu Ruhua smiled as she walked out and saw Mo Hua and the well-dressed chubby boy beside him, somewhat puzzled. "Who is..."

An Xiaofu bowed politely and said, "Hello, Auntie. My name is An Xiaofu."

"from the An Family?"

An Xiaofu nodded, "My father is the head of the An Family."

Liu Ruhua was somewhat surprised, then looked at Mo Hua, wondering how Mo Hua knew the young master of the An Family.

Mo Hua said, "Mom, I'm treating Xiaofu to dinner. Can you make something delicious?"

"At such a young age, inviting someone to dinner..." Liu Ruhua chuckled and asked An Xiaofu, "Young Master An, what would you like to eat?"

An Xiaofu quickly waved his hand, "Just call me Xiaofu. I'm not picky; anything will do."

Liu Ruhua nodded, "Alright, you two play for a while, I'll go prepare something to eat."

Mo Hua then led An Xiaofu to a bright table and they sat down.

An Xiaofu looked around and said, "So this is your family's restaurant."

"That's right!" Mo Hua looked somewhat proud.

Mo Hua had been a great help in getting the restaurant started.

An Xiaofu felt a bit envious, "That's really nice."

Mo Hua was puzzled, "But doesn't your An Family have a Spiritual Cuisine Tower? It's even larger and more magnificent."

"It's different." An Xiaofu thought for a moment and said, "Although the Spiritual Cuisine Tower is large and quiet, it always feels a bit cold and dull. Eating here is much more fun."

An Xiaofu glanced at the diners around them.

There were demon hunters, artifact refiners, alchemists, local wanderers, passing vendors, and out-of-towners, all gathered together, eating and chatting animatedly.

Even those who met by chance could chat warmly, toast each other, and wish each other well.

"Everyone gathering like this, eating together in such a lively atmosphere, that's what makes it enjoyable," An Xiaofu said.

Mo Hua felt the same way, "Then eat a little more later; my mom's cooking is really delicious."

"Thank you," An Xiaofu replied.

But he was just being polite, thanking Mo Hua for the treat, not really expecting it to be that delicious.

The An Family operated the Ling Shan restaurant, employing culinary experts who researched various high-grade recipes to create a variety of rare and exquisite dishes.

Having eaten there every day, An Xiaofu had tasted all kinds of delicious foods.

But when Liu Ruhua brought out the dishes, An Xiaofu realized that he hadn't tasted this before...

An Xiaofu took a bite and asked, "What kind of meat is this?"

"It's demon beast meat." Mo Hua picked up a piece with chopsticks and tasted it, "Probably some kind of lamb. If it were in the Great Black Mountain, I could recognize it, but now that it's on the plate, I can't tell."

An Xiaofu was surprised, "Demon beast meat can be made so delicious?"

"Hehe, surprising, isn't it?"

An Xiaofu took another bite and savored it carefully, "The spices are different too."

"You can taste the spices too?"

An Xiaofu nodded.

"What can you taste?" Mo Hua was curious.

"Well..." An Xiaofu thought for a moment, "There's cinnamon leaf, mustard seed, plum, ginger flower..."

An Xiaofu listed quite a few, then said, "And some others, the flavors are very unique; I haven't tasted them before, so I can't name them."

Mo Hua was amazed, "You're really good!"

Some of these spices were bought from the market, while others were picked by Mo Hua from the mountains outside the Great Black Mountain. These spices were quite rare and not easy to produce in quantity, so it was normal for An Xiaofu not to know their names.

But being able to taste so many spices was already impressive.

An Xiaofu was praised by Mo Hua and felt a bit embarrassed, "I... I eat a lot usually, so I can taste them. It's not that useful. I can't compare to you..."

Mo Hua was skilled in formations and had a high level of proficiency, even his grandfather found it hard to believe.

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(End of the Chapter)