The Quest for Immortality

The Pavilion Elder gazed deeply at Mo Hua, as if wanting to etch Mo Hua’s face in his mind, and spoke gently:

”Farewell for now...”

The sound of the Cloud Ferry flute echoed once more.

Mo Hua knew he couldn’t delay any longer, so he cupped his hands respectfully, exited the tea house, and walked straight toward the Cloud Ferry’s ship.

At the Cloud Ferry’s front, Mo Hua turned back, wanting to wave goodbye to the Gentleman, but discovered that the tea house was empty, with no chessboard in sight and no trace of the Gentleman.

Mo Hua felt a tinge of regret.

Yet, the ups and downs of worldly encounters, joy and sorrow, separation and reunion are only natural.

Thinking this, Mo Hua felt a sudden sense of melancholy.

”Finally... leaving...”

He recalled when he first set out, alone, traveling thousands of miles on the Cloud Ferry to Qian State to seek education from the Sect...

Mo Hua, just like before, lowered his gaze to the vast earth, then raised his head to look at the boundless sky, feeling a surge of emotion.

The Heavenly Dao moves unceasingly, one must strive tirelessly.

The terrain of Kun is vast, carrying and sustaining.

As humans live between heaven and earth, no matter where one travels, above is always the sky, below is always the ground.

The heavens hold the eternal, unchanging Heavenly Dao Formation, the earth carries ancient Taoist Meaning with kindness and sustenance.

I too must adhere to the heavenly heart, cultivate and seek the Dao, strive untiringly, support the world with Formation, and sustain things with great virtue.

Follow the heavenly logic to attain the Dao, relieve all living beings and achieve longevity.

Mo Hua’s Taoist Heart grew even clearer.

Above the expansive sky, the fate of the Qian Path swiftly turned, Mo Hua stepped onto the deck and boarded the Cloud Ferry.

An hour later, the melody of the flute drifted again.

The vast Cloud Ferry finally set sail, carrying Mo Hua, leaving the boundary of Qianxue State, heading into the boundless sea of clouds and the wider Cultivation World...

...

Days later.

The mist set by Elder Master Xun dissipated, and the various powers within the Qianxue State boundary slowly began to react, with varied thoughts suddenly arising.

Information from the long-silent Tumo Order emerged:

”I heard Mo Hua has left...”

”Who said that?”

”The Sect’s ancestor deduced it and told the Sect Leader, who told my father, and my father told me...”

”I also heard some aristocratic families are secretly planning to intercept Mo Hua.”

”Unfortunately, Ancestor Xun of Taixu Gate has too high a Dao, when they calculated the cause and effect tracing, Mo Hua had already left on the Cloud Ferry.”

The Tumo Order was silent for a moment.

A moment later, someone said: ”Good that he left, I truly don’t want to see Mo Hua again...”

”Are you afraid?”

”Shut up.”

Someone else said: ”The sword discussion is over, Mo Hua has also left, this so-called Demon Slaying Alliance, let’s disband it...”

”Disband it, there’s no point.”

”Actually, there is no deep-seated hatred with Mo Hua, merely some grievances from the sword discussion...”

”That’s right...”

...

Suddenly, the Magnetic Patterns twisted, some who suggested ”disbanding” were ”muted.”

An even thicker, more authoritative anonymous Magnetic Ink formulated a line:

”Ridiculous!”

”Thinking of giving up so easily, with this kind of spirit, how can anything significant be accomplished in the future?”

The Tumo Order went silent.

Someone asked: ”Who exactly are you?”

Anonymous Magnetic Ink: ”No need to worry about who I am, I only ask you one thing, can you truly forget the shame Mo Hua brought upon you?”

”How did he, for his own gain and to stand out, shame and kill you using a seemingly inconsequential Spell like the Fireball Technique?”

”The scenes of you being toyed with by Mo Hua were captured in shadow images, circulated everywhere, inciting ridicule.”

”The skills you took pride in were overshadowed by Mo Hua, causing the inheritance of your Sect and aristocratic family to be disregarded.”

”Some of you, originally regarded as the top of the Sect, a genius in the spotlight, were reduced to clowns by Mo Hua’s single sword.”

”You all joined forces, with numbers overwhelming the few, yet Mo Hua used Formation to blast you to death...”

”Have you forgotten all of these things?”

Lost memories began to assault everyone.

Those ”humiliation” and fury Mo Hua once brought, now faded with time, resurfaced in everyone’s hearts.

It was as if an old wound had been reopened, both painful and embarrassing.

”But... Mo Hua did save us, holding grudges against him seems...”

This person hadn’t finished speaking and was muted again.

Anonymous Magnetic Ink said: ”Was it really to save you? You should think carefully, is he truly so kind-hearted?”

”He saved you merely to boost his own reputation.”

”His intentions are inherently selfish.”

”Don’t let small gains obscure the larger issues.”

”And certainly, don’t let the despicable, insidious, vicious, selfish evil Mo Hua sway your mind.”

These words drew agreement:

”Well said.”

”Mo Hua, that person, looks like a pretty boy, but in fact is extremely insidious and scheming, deeply calculating, utterly untrustworthy!”

”Therefore, the Demon Slaying Alliance must remain, it must not disband!”

”Currently, Taixu Gate is the first major Sect of Qianxue, and soon it will be our primary opponent among the Four Sects, Eight Gates, and Twelve Streams. Mo Hua has also taken an exceptional position within Taixu Gate, to catch the thief first catch the ’king’, dealing with Taixu Gate means dealing with Mo Hua sooner or later, preparations must be made in advance.”

”Mo Hua, this child, has a treacherous mind, his Formation talent is frightening, he will become a major threat to us, this isn’t just a personal grudge, but also for the Sect’s future and aristocratic family’s interests.”

”But...” someone said, ”I’ve heard from the Elder in the Sect, Mo Hua hasn’t even got a shadow of his own Magical Treasure, at this rate, Core Formation might take forever... by that time, we will be at Golden Core, even Feather Transformation, while Mo Hua remains at Foundation Establishment, not even on the stage. Isn’t targeting him making a mountain out of a molehill?”

”This so-called Demon Slaying Alliance, ultimately...”

He hadn’t finished speaking and was muted again.