The Quest for Immortality

Bai Zixi simply stopped cultivating, leaned comfortably against the edge of the bed on a padded blanket, and listened to her senior brother and junior brother talking.

Bai Zisheng and Mo Hua were still muttering to each other.

“The Sun Family is too rich!” Mo Hua whispered.

“Rich? How so?” Bai Zisheng didn’t understand.

“This vast mansion, so many servants and maids, even the guest rooms are so well-furnished. Most things here are spiritual artifacts engraved with formations. Although the formations are somewhat crude, they are still very expensive…”

Mo Hua mused.

These items, if placed in a larger Immortal City, might be common, but here in the remote Thousand Families Town, they seemed out of place.

In Tongxian City, even the Qian Family’s mansion was not as luxurious as the Sun Family’s.

Bai Zisheng nodded, but he was always carefree and had little notion of the value of Spirit Stones.

On the other hand, Bai Zixi seemed thoughtful.

Bai Zisheng asked, “So what do we do next?”

Lying on the soft blanket, Mo Hua thought for a moment before saying,

“I need to find the Ultimate Formation hidden in this town.”

“What kind of Ultimate Formation?”

Mo Hua shook his head, “Mr. Zhuang didn’t say, and I don’t know either.”

“Does Mr. Zhuang know where it is hidden?” Bai Zisheng asked curiously.

Mo Hua lowered his voice and quietly said,

“I guess Mr. Zhuang definitely knows, but since he isn’t telling, it must mean he wants me to find it myself.”

Bai Zisheng muttered, “That’s troublesome…”

Then he asked again, “Mo Hua, do you really need to study the Ultimate Formation?”

Ultimate Formations are very difficult to learn—time-consuming, effort-intensive, and taxing on the Divine Sense. Moreover, some Ultimate Formations have obscure effects and limited applicability.

In the standards set by the Taoist Court for assessment, Ultimate Formations are not even included.

A typical Formation Master wouldn’t deliberately study them.

Yet, Mo Hua nodded earnestly, “I need to learn it.”

He counted on his fingers:

“Learn an eleven-stripe Ultimate Formation first, refine the Divine Sense to twelve stripes, then look for a twelve-stripe Ultimate Formation to comprehend, refine the Divine Sense to thirteen stripes, and then seek a thirteen-stripe Ultimate Formation…”

Bai Zisheng’s scalp tingled at the thought.

Bai Zixi also looked at Mo Hua in amazement, speechless.

“Can you really learn it?” Bai Zisheng asked with concern.

Learning up to eleven stripes was preposterous enough; aiming for thirteen stripes seemed out of the question…

“Even if I can’t learn it, I must learn it. As long as I study, there will be a day I can master it.”

Mo Hua nodded, “Besides, my Spiritual Root is inadequate, and I can’t do Body Refinement. This is the only path I can take.”

Bai Zisheng, feeling a headache at the thought and some sympathy for his junior brother, declared as a proper senior brother, “Then I’ll help you!”

After speaking, he sneakily glanced at his sister Bai Zixi.

Bai Zixi also nodded her head.

Bai Zisheng then said, “Zixi and I will help you together!”

“There’s no need to trouble yourselves,” Mo Hua declined.

Bai Zisheng was slightly displeased:

“You’re a junior brother, no need for formalities. Just tell us if you need anything.”

“Alright then…”

Since that was the case, Mo Hua stopped being polite.

“This Ultimate Formation is either hidden in the Sun Family or somewhere in Thousand Families Town. Let’s split up and search; you and senior sister can inquire within the Sun Family, and I’ll look around town for clues,” Mo Hua shared his plan.

The Sun Family was very warm towards Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi, but somewhat dismissive of him.

They probably noticed the air of Disciples of the Worldly Family on this senior brother and sister, with their clearly exceptional talents, and thus wanted to curry favor.

If they made requests or probed into the Sun Family’s assets, it would likely be much easier for them.

Being young, if he tried to inquire within the Sun Family, he would certainly be perfunctorily handled, perhaps even slighted, and might not be able to uncover anything.

Bai Zisheng nodded, then asked with confusion,

“How do you know all this?”

“I calculated it!”

“How did you calculate it…” Bai Zisheng was quite curious.

“By sensing the Spiritual Power of the formations, calculating the Formation Patterns through the Spiritual Power, and thereby deducing the location of the Formation…”

Mo Hua explained it once.

Bai Zisheng frowned, perceiving it as a highly complicated matter.

“Are you sure about your calculations?”

Bai Zisheng was somewhat uneasy.

Mo Hua sighed, “It’s because I’m not sure that I need your help… If I could be certain, I would already know where the formation is located—I wouldn’t need to go looking for it…”

“So you’ve only learned half of it…”

“Even if it’s half-learned, it’s still very hard!”

Mo Hua defended stoutly.

Bai Zisheng paused, then on further thought agreed; although Mo Hua was but half-trained, he himself was not trained at all.

The skill of Divine Sense Calculation was completely foreign to him.

Let alone knowing it, if it wasn’t for Mo Hua and Mr. Zhuang mentioning it, and the Bai Family’s fairly deep Formation roots, he wouldn’t have even heard of it.

Bai Zisheng felt somewhat deflated, then his eyes brightened a little, “Can I learn this Calculation?”

After thinking, Mo Hua said, “You can only learn it after reaching Foundation Establishment with your Divine Sense. By then, Master will likely teach you as well.”

“Alright then.” Bai Zisheng sighed.

He still had some time before Foundation Establishment.

Suddenly, Mo Hua remembered another matter and asked Bai Zisheng,

“Did you take Mr. Zhuang as your master because you wanted to learn about Formations? Has the master taught you any?”

Bai Zisheng nodded, “He has.”

Mo Hua was startled, “When did he teach you?”

The three of them were almost always together, so how could Mr. Zhuang have taught them without his knowledge…

Bai Zisheng hesitated for a moment but decided to tell the truth,

“It was when you went to pluck grass and feed Big White…”

Mo Hua was dumbfounded.

In that short amount of time, Mr. Zhuang actually gave them “special lessons”…

However, upon reflection, Mo Hua realized Mr. Zhuang seemed to have given him “special lessons” too, which somewhat balanced his feelings.

Bai Zisheng spoke with a tinge of regret,

“The master said that you must not learn this Formation, so you must not see it…”

“Why can’t I learn it?” Mo Hua wondered.

Bai Zisheng shook his head, “Master didn’t say.”

Frowning, Mo Hua’s mind was busy with thoughts.

Bai Zisheng thought he might hold a grudge and suggestively said, “How about I secretly teach you?”

After he spoke, he sneakily glanced at Bai Zixi.

Bai Zixi blinked, pretending to be unaware.

Mo Hua was touched by the gesture, yet still shook his head,

“The master must have his reasons. If I could learn, he would certainly teach me. Since he doesn’t, there must be a reason.”

After all, Mr. Zhuang has taught me very advanced knowledge about various Formations, such as Reversed Spirit Formations, Divine Sense Calculation, and Formation Collapse.

Not teaching this particular Formation now probably means he really has some concerns.

Even if Mr. Zhuang truly refuses to teach, it doesn’t really matter…

Mr. Zhuang has already been very good to me, teaching me plenty, and I mustn’t be greedy.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi both looked at Mo Hua in surprise, then both breathed a sigh of relief.

As fellow disciples seeking knowledge in the same school, they felt somewhat guilty about secretly learning things behind Mo Hua’s back, but spelling things out now made them feel much more at ease.

Bai Zisheng then vowed earnestly,

“Rest assured, I’ll find the Ultimate Formation for you. It’s just the Sun Family, right? I’ll turn the Sun Family upside down tomorrow!”

Bai Zixi sighed helplessly.

Mo Hua gave him an annoyed glance, “If we’re to search for something, we need to be discreet and not let them notice…”

Bai Zisheng scratched his head, “Oh, right.”

Then the three little heads came together again, whispering and muttering a bunch of things.

They spoke about how to probe, what excuses to find, what the Formation was, its effects, and where it might be hidden.

Of course, most of the talking was between Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng, with Bai Zixi just silently listening…

Meanwhile, in the next room, Mr. Zhuang slowly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with wistfulness and satisfaction.

The next morning, after breakfast, Mo Hua and the others began to act separately.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi subtly revealed their identities as members of a great clan.

Sun Ze, elated beyond measure, volunteered to show the two around the Sun Family estate. On the surface, he appeared to answer all questions and was exceedingly thorough, but whether there was truth or falsehood in his words remained unknown.

Mo Hua claimed he wanted to go out for a walk to find some food for Big White’s horse.

The Sun Family offered their own forage, but Mo Hua deemed it not good enough.

The Sun Family then suggested finding someone to accompany Mo Hua, but he refused, and all other reasons were also decisively rejected by Mo Hua, resulting in them reluctantly watching as Mo Hua slipped out of the Sun Family’s gate alone.

Sun Yi frowned slightly, saying to Mr. Zhuang,

“This young brother is young; going out alone, he might encounter danger.”

Mr. Zhuang simply responded, “It’s fine.”

In the entirety of Thousand Families Town, the only Foundation Building Cultivator was the Family Head of the Sun Family before them.

With Mo Hua’s current abilities, outside of the Sun Family, there likely wasn’t any Cultivator who could trouble him.

As soon as Mo Hua left the Sun Family, the scenery before him seemed to change abruptly.

The Sun Family estate was luxurious and splendid.

But outside, the streets were desolate, covered with a layer of weather-worn frost.

It was as if they were in two different worlds.

Mo Hua sighed softly.

Afterward, he walked down the main street, touring the whole town.

Thousand Families Town wasn’t large; in less than half an hour, he had taken in all the Formations in town.

These Formations were profoundly rudimentary, mostly just three or four Formation Patterns, belonging to the introductory level for apprentices.

Beyond that, there were no other special Formation traces.

“Nothing…” Mo Hua murmured to himself, pondering,

“Could it be that the Ultimate Formation is hidden within the Sun Family?”

The Sun Family Head seemed to be a Formation Master, so having a collection of ancient and lost Formations would make sense.

Moreover, the Sun Family was quite wealthy, so passing down an Ultimate Formation from ancestors could be plausible.

Just as Mo Hua was about to head back, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the Spirit Fields.

They were neatly arranged in blocks between two mountains.

At this moment, the Spirit Fields were brimming with Spirit Rice.

As the mountain breeze passed, it stirred the Spirit Fields, rippling the green expanse like a wrinkled lake surface.

And above the Spirit Fields, lingered a faint Spiritual Energy.

Mo Hua swept the fields with his Divine Sense, uttered a light “hmm,” and strode toward the Spirit Fields that waved like the tide.