The Quest for Immortality

The housing agency worker chatted about the idle gossip of South Yue City while introducing the cave dwelling to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua, while taking in the exterior layout of the dwelling, remembered what Mr. Zhuang had said.

”Look at the spiritual energy, look at the layout, look at the formations, look at the five elements...”

Since the Taoist Court unified all, the cultivation world had developed for over twenty thousand years, and billions of cultivators had been born, yet nature’s spiritual energy had gradually become diluted.

Nowadays, the natural spiritual energy present between heaven and earth was no longer enough to support the cultivation of cultivators.

But there was indeed still spiritual energy between heaven and earth.

It’s just that this spiritual energy was either too sparse, too mixed, or too tainted to be absorbed and refined by the cultivators.

Mo Hua pondered silently in his heart:

”Master asked me to look at the spiritual energy, but what exactly am I supposed to look at?”

”What’s so special about spiritual energy?”

Mo Hua released his divine sense and observed the lingering spiritual energy above the cave dwelling, after a while, he gradually understood and realized something in his heart.

What Mr. Zhuang asked him to look at was not the spiritual energy itself, but the flow of spiritual energy.

If the spiritual energy flows, then the qi channels are unobstructed, making the dwelling suitable for living.

Wind may not always be present, but the flow of spiritual power is constant.

It’s just that this kind of flow is very subtle and requires patience to sense and careful discernment to identify.

The layout is also easy to understand.

East, south, west, north, as well as the upper and lower directions.

The location of the cave dwelling within the entire layout of the Immortal City, as well as its orientation, are all carefully considered.

There’s no need to mention formations.

As a First-grade Formation Master and a First-grade Chief Formation Master who had constructed the Five Elements First-Class Demon Slayer Formation, had divine sense of twelve patterns, and had even learned the Ultimate Formation that surpassed first grade, Mo Hua found things related to formations the simplest.

Especially the formations at the Qi Refinement Realm.

This South Yue City was but a Second Grade Immortal City.

The highest level of cultivation was only at Foundation Establishment, and the formation masters were at most first grade.

The formations used in this dwelling were mainly first grade, with even the nine-patterned formations being rare—most were simple formations of six or seven patterns.

These formations were so simple that Mo Hua didn’t even need to calculate; he could see through them at a glance.

To Mo Hua, six or seven patterned formations were practically no different from basic formation patterns.

Lastly, the five elements...

Mo Hua still remembered the principles of the Five Elements Generation and Restraint he dealt with when constructing formation diagrams for the Refinery Shop.

In Tao cultivation architecture, different rooms and formations all involve the principles of the Five Elements Generation and Restraint.

How to utilize metal to produce water and nurture water sources; use water to produce wood, to nourish flowers and plants; and use earth to produce metal, to strengthen buildings...

Mo Hua looked, calculated, and confidently muttered to himself.

The housing agency worker couldn’t help but look at Mo Hua with surprise.

This young cultivator didn’t seem like an amateur.

And he was very familiar with the formations in the dwelling...

It seemed he had some solid foundations in formations.

Could it be that he’s an apprentice of some Great Formation Master, picking out a dwelling for his master?

The housing agency worker’s spirits lifted, and the smile on his face became even more sincere.

A Formation Master, after all...

Even if you couldn’t curry favor with one, you must never offend one.

...

The housing agency worker was very enthusiastic, leading Mo Hua and two companions to see all the cave dwellings the housing agency had.

After Mo Hua looked around and reflected on them, he initially settled on three dwellings and asked Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi:

”What do you think?”

Bai Zixi didn’t say anything.

However, Bai Zisheng was not quite satisfied.

”It’s not large enough, not grand enough, there are too few rooms, and the facilities for alchemy and artifact refining are very basic.”

Mo Hua glanced at him, ”Why don’t you pick one then?”

Bai Zisheng thought for a moment and then backed down:

”Never mind, Master asked you to pick, so you should do it.”

All these matters of spiritual energy, layout, formations, and five elements just gave him a headache.

If Mo Hua picked the wrong one, the master wouldn’t punish him.

But if he picked wrongly, it was another story; he might be punished to copy scriptures or draw formations hundreds of times...

Bai Zisheng looked at Mo Hua again and mused in his heart:

”Could Mo Hua be a blood-related junior of Master? Otherwise, why would Master treat him so well?”

Bai Zisheng speculated, then immediately denied it in his mind:

”Impossible. The descendants of Mr. Zhuang couldn’t possibly have such poor spiritual roots as Mo Hua!”

Mo Hua furrowed his brow, ”Are you bad-mouthing me again?”

”I haven’t even said anything!”

”You were saying it in your mind.”

Bai Zisheng’s mouth fell open, ”Mo Hua, have you become a spirit? Can you know what other people are thinking?”

Mo Hua snorted lightly and didn’t speak.

Since his divine sense had grown stronger and he learned calculations, he had developed a vague sense of some things.

Of course, knowing what Bai Zisheng was thinking was mainly because he knew him too well.

Bai Zisheng kept his guard up around strangers, but with acquaintances, especially his junior brother with whom he spent all his time, his thoughts were written all over his face.

Bai Zisheng asked about the serious matter, ”So, which cave dwelling do we choose?”

Mo Hua said, ”I picked according to the standards of spiritual energy, layout, formations, and the five elements that Master mentioned. These three are all similar, so choose whichever one you like.”

Bai Zisheng scratched his head.

He felt none were particularly good, but if he had to choose, they were all similar.

Mo Hua glanced at Bai Zixi, ”Little senior sister, which one do you like?”

Bai Zisheng also looked toward his sister.

After considering for a moment, Bai Zixi lightly pointed her slender finger at a picture of a cave dwelling and said:

”This one.”

Mo Hua glanced at it; there was nothing special about this dwelling except for a pond in the yard, a lawn beside the pond, and a big tree on the lawn.

Although the layout was different, it bore some resemblance to their mountain abode in South Mountain of Immortal City where they had studied with Mr. Zhuang, especially the big tree in the courtyard.

Mo Hua then nodded, ”Then this one it is.”

Mo Hua showed the picture of the dwelling to Mr. Zhuang.

Mr. Zhuang only glanced at it and nodded, ”Good.”

Mo Hua was delighted in his heart, it seemed that his earlier considerations were correct.

Now that Mr. Zhuang had agreed, the next step was to go to the housing agency worker to rent the cave dwelling.

The housing agency worker was quite surprised upon hearing this.

He hadn’t expected that Mo Hua and the other two were actually serious about renting.

”You really want to rent?” the housing agency worker confirmed again.

Mo Hua nodded, but before he could speak, Bai Zixi’s crisp voice rang out:

”No, we’re not renting.”

Not only was the housing agency worker stunned, Mo Hua was too.

Bai Zixi said indifferently:

”We’re buying.”

Mo Hua whispered, ”Sister apprentice, purchasing would require a lot of Spirit Stones...”

Bai Zixi shook her head, ”Not a lot.”

She gently patted the storage bag with golden silk and phoenix patterns at her waist and softly said to Mo Hua:

”Before we left, Aunt Xue gave me all the Spirit Stones...”

After saying this, fearing that Mo Hua would worry, she added:

”A lot, a lot...”

Mo Hua was somewhat shocked.

His little sister apprentice was actually a little rich girl...

Immediately after, he felt a bit puzzled, ”Can this small Storage Bag hold that much?”

Bai Zixi nodded, ”It can hold it.”

Mo Hua understood.

This Storage Bag must be an extraordinary Spiritual Artifact.

The storage space in bags used by Loose Cultivators is limited, not able to contain too much.

If one needs to transport large items, they would have to use storage boxes.

But Mo Hua knew that some storage Spiritual Artifacts have very large inner spaces, which of course are also very expensive, at least too expensive for Mo Hua to afford.

Mo Hua looked again at the gold-threaded phoenix Storage Bag, his curiosity piqued, really wanting to know how much it could hold inside.

Yet, he felt it inappropriate to rummage through his little sister apprentice’s Storage Bag.

On the other hand, the worker from the housing agency was overjoyed upon hearing this.

What was originally a rental had turned into a purchase.

A large deal had become an even bigger deal.

The housing agency worker immediately smiled and said, ”This cave dwelling’s original price is forty thousand Spirit Stones. If you, young friends, wish to purchase, our agency can offer a discount price, thirty-eight thousand Spirit Stones!”

Just as Bai Zixi was about to nod, Mo Hua spoke up indignantly:

”Hold on!”

Thirty-eight thousand Spirit Stones?! Scamming who?

A Loose Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment generally spends only about ten thousand Spirit Stones.

That ten thousand Spirit Stones would require a Loose Cultivator to save up for over thirty years without eating or drinking.

Moreover, how could a Loose Cultivator not eat or drink?

And how can one’s cultivation always go smoothly?

If faced with an unexpected event requiring Spirit Stones, it’s highly likely one would spend more than earn, never mind ten thousand Spirit Stones, they might not even save up a hundred.

This cave dwelling costs thirty-five thousand Spirit Stones?

Save for a hundred years without eating or drinking?

Why would an ordinary cave dwelling be so expensive?

Mo Hua furrowed his brows, feeling somewhat angry.

The housing agency worker, feeling helpless, said, ”The market price is what it is; we can’t do anything about it...”

Then he said something more about the Taoist Court, clans, and land issues, implying that the cave dwelling was indeed expensive, but it wasn’t their fault.

”The market price has always been like this for the past few years...”

Seeing they really had difficulties, Mo Hua then said:

”Then give us a cheaper price.”

Though he didn’t need to pay the Spirit Stones himself, his little sister apprentice’s Spirit Stones were still Spirit Stones.

He also felt pained for her for the thirty thousand plus Spirit Stones.

”We can’t reduce it any further...” the housing agency worker said with a troubled face, ”Young brother, you have a good eye. This cave dwelling you’ve chosen may look unremarkable, but it has a nice setup and is an excellent choice...”

Mo Hua’s eyes narrowed slightly, ”The Formation of this cave dwelling is flawed.”

The housing agency worker was taken aback, somewhat displeased:

”The Formation here can be flawed? Let’s not talk about other things, just this Formation alone, it integrates the Five Elements, it’s good for both offense and defense, not only can it prevent theft and repel enemies, but it can also ventilate and cultivate one’s Qi.

Moreover, the classification of this Formation method is definitely first-grade, drawn by a great Formation Master himself, and it’s almost brand new...”

The housing agency worker was glib, praising to the skies.

Mo Hua pointed to a spot on the ground and said: ”The Formation here is broken.”

The housing agency worker was startled, ”Broken... broken?”

Mo Hua nodded, ”The Earth Stone Formation, the second Formation Pattern’s media is broken...”

Mo Hua walked a few steps forward, looked up, and then said:

”The Formation painting here is incorrect.”

”The Bright Lamp Formation, the fourth Pattern, the fifth stroke is wrong...”

The housing agency worker’s mouth hung open.

Mo Hua turned his head to look at the courtyard, ”Originally there were four Formations here, but they’re no longer working and no one has repaired them, you probably didn’t even know...”

”Also, the Formation here is wrong too...”

”The Formation here isn’t incorrect, but it used low-grade Spiritual Ink, it will fail in two months.”

”And here, the Formations are conflicting with each other...”

”What is this drawing here...”

”Here...”

...

The housing agency worker was completely dumbfounded.

Who exactly was this young cultivator?

He had never shown the Formation Diagrams of this cave dwelling to the young cultivator...

Formations are confidential, and the diagrams are always sealed. They can’t be revealed until the transaction is completed.

But how did this young cultivator, after just a few glances, list all the defects in the cave dwelling’s Formations as if he was reciting from a family treasure?

Whether a cave dwelling looks good or is comfortable to live in, and whether the layout is nice—

These are subjective issues.

One person may have one opinion, which can’t be taken for certain.

But issues with Formations are very real and can’t fool anyone...

And to have these issues pointed out so clearly and straightforwardly...

The housing agency worker felt the soul knocked out of him, sweating profusely.

After Mo Hua listed almost all the defects, his gaze flashed, and taking advantage of the worker’s shock, he made a ruthless bid:

”Twenty thousand Spirit Stones!”

He shot for a high price, determined to cut nearly half off.

The housing agency worker trembled, nearly fainting...