Chapter 1: Mo Hua

In the 20,022nd year of the Dao Calendar, on the tenth day of the ninth month,

Tongxian City, outside the Tongxian Sect Mountain Gate.

Mo Hua, ten years old, wearing the simple robe of an Outer Sect disciple, sat idly behind a large boulder at the base of the mountain, drawing intricate patterns on the ground with a blade of grass in his hand.

By the time dawn arrived, disciples ascending the mountain for their studies began to gather in groups, chatting and laughing along the way.

A chubby boy dressed in the standard Outer Sect robe, adorned with a fine jade ornament, appeared with two or three followers. He found Mo Hua behind the rock, happily engrossed in his drawings.

The chubby boy glanced around cautiously, ensuring no Sect instructors were in sight, and then called out with a lowered head, "Mo Hua!"

Mo Hua lifted his head, revealing a delicate, almost painterly face, his clear gaze as pure as a fresh stream.

The boy lowered his voice, "Is it done?"

Mo Hua, sounding more grown-up than his age, patted his chest confidently. "If I'm handling it, you have nothing to worry about." With that, he retrieved a few array diagrams, drawn with red ink on white paper, from his storage bag and handed them over to the chubby boy.

"Check if everything looks right."

The boy accepted the diagrams with great care, flipping through them briefly before grimacing, "I can't make sense of any of this…"

Mo Hua patiently explained, "The task from the instructor was to draw basic Five Elements Array patterns. I've done them for you, with six intentional mistakes, so the instructor won't suspect they weren't drawn by you."

"Six mistakes… isn't that a bit much?"

Mo Hua gave him a silent look.

Quickly realizing his error, the boy reconsidered, saying, "One mustn't be too greedy. It's already good enough that I can hand in the assignment. If it looks too perfect, it could raise suspicion, and if the instructor finds out, my father will give me a thrashing. It's just not worth it."

Mo Hua nodded approvingly, "Well said, Young Master An, you catch on quickly!"

The chubby boy slipped two spirit stones into Mo Hua's hand, "Brother Mo, you really know how to appreciate my intelligence! Here, take these spirit stones. Next time we get an array assignment, I'll look for you again!"

Then, with the array diagrams stuffed into his robe, he dashed up the mountain.

Mo Hua carefully pocketed the two spirit stones, then grabbed another blade of grass and resumed drawing on the ground.

Soon, another young man arrived, this one tall and thin, wielding a gold-flecked paper fan, his appearance haughty and adorned with even more jade accessories.

Mo Hua handed him an array diagram as well. The young man took a cursory glance at it and nodded to his servant, who stepped forward to hand Mo Hua two spirit stones.

The slender young man took the array diagram but didn't leave. Instead, he snapped his fan shut and sneered, "I'm actually quite proficient in arrays myself. I just don't have the time for these elementary exercises, so I'm letting you handle it for me."

Mo Hua couldn't be bothered to respond and continued drawing on the ground with his blade of grass.

Annoyed, the young man scoffed, "I've heard that among the Qi Refining disciples here at Tongxian Sect, your array skills are unmatched. How do you think you'd fare against me in a contest?"

Mo Hua thought, You're having me do your array assignments; what does that say about your skills?

But he decided to keep things amicable for business purposes. So he lifted his head and offered some flattering words, "Of course, your array expertise is unparalleled. After all, the Qian family is the leading family in Tongxian City; no one else could hope to match your legacy in array techniques."

The young man's expression softened, and he asked, "Is there anyone among the Qi Refining disciples who could surpass me in array skills?"

"Well, there might be…"

"Who?"

Mo Hua wisely refrained from naming himself. "There are quite a few; it's hard to count them all at once."

The young man's irritation grew evident.

Mo Hua quickly interjected, "But that's a good thing!"

The young man sneered, "A good thing? Are you implying that I'm less talented than those without my family background or spirit stone resources? How is that a good thing?"

Mo Hua explained, "In Tongxian City, no matter how talented a cultivator may be, they'll ultimately end up in the Qian family's Myriad Treasures Pavilion, refining weapons, concocting pills, or drawing arrays for your family."

"Think about it. You're still in the Qi Refining stage, yet Foundation Building cultivators work under your command. As a First-Grade Array Master, you have Second-Grade Array Masters at your beck and call. Isn't that impressive? The stronger your subordinates are, the greater your own reputation becomes!"

The young man was stunned, then realized, "That does make sense!"

"Exactly."

The young man nodded and, casting a haughty glance at the cultivators below, lifted his chin higher.

"Indeed, no matter how gifted or diligent they may be, in the end, they'll still be toiling away for the Qian family."

Having successfully appeased the young man, Mo Hua resumed his array practice on the ground.

Soon, more wealthy cultivators arrived, trading spirit stones for array diagrams, until Mo Hua had collected a total of twelve spirit stones.

For a wandering cultivator, twelve spirit stones was already a considerable amount. But when it came to the path of cultivation, it was far from enough.

Mo Hua sighed, a hint of helplessness crossing his youthful face.

For wandering cultivators at the lowest rungs of society, the path to cultivation was virtually hopeless.

Back in the first year of the Dao Calendar, over twenty thousand years ago, the largest power in the cultivation world—the Dao Court—had unified the nine provinces of cultivation. They bestowed titles on noble families and sects, established a unified ranking system, and created a standardized hierarchy for cultivation.

The Dao Court then issued the Dao Law, which imposed strict regulations on cultivators: forbidding indiscriminate killing, prohibiting pillaging, and banning certain malicious techniques.

Under these regulations, the cultivation world flourished for over twenty thousand years, becoming extraordinarily prosperous and spanning a vast territory filled with countless cultivators.

Yet amid this splendor, noble families reveled in wealth, and sects claimed dominion over regions.

Only wandering cultivators, lacking any form of support, lived in hardship and found cultivation an unattainable dream.

As the cultivation world developed over these millennia, mortals without spiritual roots were naturally eliminated, leaving only those with spiritual roots who could cultivate. But the more cultivators there were, the more spiritual energy was consumed, until the spiritual energy of heaven and earth began to deplete.

Nowadays, anyone aspiring to cultivate required both lineage and spirit stones.

However, spirit stone mines were monopolized by large families, and wandering cultivators were left impoverished. Major sects hoarded their teachings, leaving ordinary wandering cultivators with no way forward.

In Tongxian City, the vast majority of wandering cultivators had neither inheritance nor spirit stones. Throughout their entire lives, they could only hope to reach the Qi Refining stage.

And the Qi Refining stage was nothing more than an insignificant ant beneath the grand expanse of the Heavenly Dao.

Mo Hua was just one of the countless ants among them.

And, most likely, he would remain so for the rest of his life!

A faint bitterness crept onto Mo Hua's young face.

The Heavenly Dao might be impartial, but cultivation was anything but equal…

Mo Hua was a wandering cultivator in the second level of Qi Refining, born to a family of wandering cultivators who also had only reached the Qi Refining stage.

His father, Mo Shan, hunted demons for a living, constantly risking his life against demon beasts and bearing scars all over his body. His mother worked as a cook in the mess hall, her body often afflicted with chest pains and a dry cough from the heat of the kitchen fires.

Mo Hua's parents scrimped and saved, putting together every spirit stone they could just so he could enter the Outer Sect of the Tongxian Sect.

But Mo Hua was naturally frail, with a weak constitution. He couldn't even cultivate a basic physique, let alone succeed in demon-hunting or any other physically demanding path.

No matter how hard he trained, he would likely remain only a Qi Refining cultivator.

Given the harsh conditions at home and the lack of spirit stones, Mo Hua's best hope was to reach the sixth level of Qi Refining, then exit the sect and find some means of livelihood.

But his body was innately weak!

The work most Qi Refining cultivators relied on, such as crafting artifacts and hunting demons, required a strong physique. For someone like Mo Hua, who was weak from birth, even finding a simple job to survive on might prove impossible.

Should he eventually marry and have children, the burden would only increase, and any spirit stones would likely go toward supporting his family.

Without spirit stones for cultivation, his progress would stall, leaving him a lifelong Qi Refining cultivator.

Just like the countless impoverished wandering cultivators in Tongxian City,

Just like the billions of lower-tier cultivators across the entire cultivation world.

Forever stuck in Qi Refining!

Mo Hua, only ten years old, sighed again, adjusted his mindset, and headed to class at the sect. After a day of study, he returned to the disciples' quarters, read some cultivation texts, and by midnight, lay down on his bed.

As Mo Hua closed his eyes, a remnant stele appeared within his Sea of Consciousness.

There were no words on the stele, but the moment Mo Hua saw it, he somehow knew its name:

The Dao Stele!