Mo Hua wanted to say more, but Elder Yu cut him off:
"These are for your Foundation Establishment. Whether the Large Formation can be built or not, whether we can kill Feng Xi or not, it should not delay your Foundation Establishment."
Elder Yu spoke with a grave tone, "Your Foundation Establishment is what’s most important!"
"But first, we need to get past this immediate hurdle..."
"No matter whether we get past this hurdle or not, you must proceed with Foundation Establishment!" Elder Yu repeated.
Seeing that Mo Hua wanted to argue further, Elder Yu sighed and said:
"If you really feel bad, after your Foundation Establishment, become a Second Grade Formation Master, and help us out whenever it’s within your capacity.
"As a Second Grade Formation Master, your words will carry great weight, and everything will become easier for you."
Mo Hua nodded, Elder Yu was right, but he didn’t know whether he could build the Large Formation, which was equally important to him.
He had to build the Large Formation to step by step comprehend even more profound formations.
Mo Hua still insisted on giving the Spirit Stones to Elder Yu.
Elder Yu sighed, eventually accepting them. After taking them, he quickly slipped them back into Mo Hua’s chest when he wasn’t looking.
"Alright, you’ve already donated, so I’ll give you some more,"
Mo Hua couldn’t help but feel a mix of laughter and tears.
"Formation Masters creating formations, how can there be no compensation?" Elder Yu said with a stern face, "You keep it well."
Mo Hua knew that Elder Yu was stubborn and had no choice but to accept it.
The collection of Spirit Stones was proceeding in an orderly fashion, but relying solely on Monster Hunters and Loose Cultivators was clearly insufficient.
Mo Hua went to find Court Leader Zhou again.
Stroking his beard, Court Leader Zhou offered two methods:
"One is for me to submit a petition to the Taoist Court, to apply for some more Spirit Stone resources, with the reason being disaster relief and city relocation due to a shortage of Spirit Stones..."
"Not directly stating it’s for constructing a Large Formation?" Mo Hua asked, puzzled.
"If you say it’s for building a Large Formation, that’s impossible to get approved," Court Leader Zhou explained.
Mo Hua was slightly taken aback.
Court Leader Zhou then explained to Mo Hua:
"If I say it’s for constructing a Large Formation, the Taoist Court won’t believe it, much less approve it. Tongxian City is just a Little Immortal City, with hardly a few First-Grade Formation Masters, what means do they have to build a Large Formation?"
"Even if they believed and wanted to approve, they would have to send someone to investigate thoroughly."
"The Taoist Court bureaucracy is redundant, interests are intertwined, and without someone looking out for me up there, who knows how much time will pass with all the back-and-forth."
"And the resources needed for constructing a Large Formation are like a bottomless pit; the Taoist Court may not be willing to part with that much either."
"Better to find a known, surefire reason to apply for a batch, take what we can get, and it’s no loss if it’s less, but all the better if it’s more."
"As for the bulk of the Spirit Stones, we still need to think of other methods."
Mo Hua curiously asked, "What other methods might there be?"
Court Leader Zhou stroked his beard and with a smile that was not quite a smile, said, "Guess."
After thinking for a moment, Mo Hua tentatively suggested:
"The Qian Family?"
Court Leader Zhou nodded, "Exactly, the Qian Family is wealthy, and mostly because of the Patriarch of the Qian Family, it can hardly be considered clean."
"Are you thinking of confiscating the Qian Family’s property?"
Court Leader Zhou shook his head, "Not to that extent. Given the emergency, as long as the Qian Family donates wealth, we can overlook the Patriarch of the Qian Family’s establishment of the Black Mountain Stronghold and collusion with Evil Cultivators."
Court Leader Zhou coldly stated, "The matter with Feng Xi, ultimately, is to be blamed on the Patriarch of the Qian Family. If he hadn’t used humans in Alchemy, using that Pig Monster as a Pill Furnace, such a great disaster wouldn’t have arisen from the Great Dao."
"Now, we’re giving the Qian Family a chance to redeem themselves and make amends for their crimes. I hope they won’t fail to recognize this opportunity..."
Mo Hua nodded and then said:
"I’ll go see Old Master An again and see if he is willing to donate some."
The An Family is the second-largest clan in Tongxian City and also has many Spirit Stones.
Court Leader Zhou hesitated a bit, "The An Family conducts an honest business, and Old Master An might not agree to donate his family’s wealth."
"How will we know if we don’t try? Maybe Old Master An is broad-minded and charitable," Mo Hua said.
Court Leader Zhou tugged at the corner of his mouth, clearly skeptical, but still said:
"You might as well try."
Mo Hua ran off to find Old Master An and, without beating around the bush, got straight to the point:
"Old Master, we’re building a Large Formation. Would you like to donate some Spirit Stones?"
Old Master An’s expression showed neither joy nor anger as he spoke indifferently:
"What if I’m not willing to donate?"
Mo Hua replied nonchalantly, "I’m just asking. If you don’t want to donate, that’s fine. We have such a close relationship, I wouldn’t pressure you."
Old Master An scrutinized Mo Hua’s expression and, seeing no discontent, he sighed faintly, realizing he might have overthought it.
He had thought Mo Hua was coming with a veiled threat.
Building a Large Formation needed Spirit Stones, and the An Family had Spirit Stones, making the relationship very delicate.
If something unforeseen happened, their An Family would become a natural reservoir of Spirit Stones.
Having lived for so long, Old Master An knew that interpersonal relationships were superficial and fragile, while interests were cruel but resilient.
The An Family had a bit of a relationship with Mo Hua, but no relationship could outweigh Spirit Stones, especially since their relationship with Mo Hua wasn’t that deep to begin with.
Old Master An’s expression became more somber.
He knew that the construction of the Large Formation was under Mo Hua’s control.
Although he couldn’t understand how Mo Hua had persuaded Elder Yu, as well as Court Leader Zhou from the Taoist Court and Leader Yang from the Taoist soldiers Court, to take on such a significant task.
Building a Large Formation was not so easy.
Yet Mo Hua had managed it.
With his unique status and extensive connections, Mo Hua, despite his youth, was actually the one orchestrating many matters in Tongxian City.
Especially now, with the greatest powers of Tongxian City standing behind him.
If he wanted to make things difficult for the An Family, they would undoubtedly face severe hardships.
If he insisted on the An Family donating Spirit Stones, then they would have to comply; if they didn’t, they surely wouldn’t meet a good end.
If Mo Hua didn’t want to trouble the An Family, then neither the Taoist Court nor the Taoist Soldiers Court, nor even the Monster Hunters, would pressure them.
It now seemed that Mo Hua had no intention of troubling the An Family...
Old Master An secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then became puzzled again:
"You really don’t want me to donate?"
Mo Hua clarified, "Of course, I wish you would donate, but whether you’re willing to or not is up to you."
Old Master An nodded, and after a moment, he ventured tentatively:
"What if I said I want to donate?"
Mo Hua’s eyes lit up. He quickly calculated the prepared speech and began "selling dreams" to Old Master An.