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.