The Quest for Immortality

Dan Zhu murmured to himself.

But before he could voice his question, he suddenly stopped.

He could sense that someone was coming from outside.

Mo Hua naturally could sense it too, so he said nothing more, but picked up his wine cup and took a sip.

Sure enough, after a moment, footsteps approached, and a guard respectfully said:

”Young Master.”

Dan Zhu said, ”Enter.”

The guard stepped into the tent and saluted Dan Zhu.

Dan Zhu asked, ”What is it?”

The guard replied, ”The Great Chief is hosting a family banquet and wishes to see the Young Master.”

”Father...” Dan Zhu nodded, ”I understand. Go tell him I’ll be there shortly.”

”Yes.”

Answered the guard, then exited.

Dan Zhu looked at Mo Hua with an apologetic expression, ”Mr. Witch, I’m sorry. I need to go see my father.”

Mo Hua nodded and said, ”Young Master, please feel free.”

Dan Zhu got up to leave, but after taking a few steps, he still couldn’t shake off his doubts. He turned back to glance at Mo Hua and said:

”Mr. Witch, why not... accompany me to see my father?”

Mo Hua was slightly taken aback.

This was something he hadn’t anticipated.

He originally intended to first teach Dan Zhu some basic concepts, helping him understand certain truths before making other plans.

Before this, he hadn’t planned on meeting the Great Chief of the Danque Tribe so early.

In such a remote barbaric wilderness, having the ability to govern such a large tribe.

This Great Chief of the Danque Tribe could not be a simple character.

He hadn’t even finished ”deceiving” Dan Zhu, his ”disciple,” and now he had to face his father directly; it was indeed somewhat ”hasty.”

Mo Hua then gently declined, ”Since it’s a family banquet, intruding would inevitably be somewhat abrupt.”

Dan Zhu, however, shook his head and said, ”I want my father to meet Mr. Witch.”

Mo Hua sighed inwardly.

For a moment, he couldn’t tell if Dan Zhu was easily deceived or not.

However, since things had come to this point, to procrastinate further would seem apprehensive.

Mo Hua then said, ”Very well.”

Afterward, Dan Zhu led Mo Hua out of Dan Zhu Palace and arrived at the Great Hall of the Danque Tribe to participate in a rather grand ”banquet.”

At the highest point of the hall hung a totem resembling a ”Vermilion Bird.”

Beneath the totem was the ”main seat,” and on the main seat sat a tall and mighty barbaric chieftain with fiery red eyebrows.

This was the Great Chief of the Danque Tribe and also Dan Zhu’s father.

At this moment, behind this Great Chief stood a row of barbaric women, dressed lightly and with captivating looks.

These women were the Great Chief’s ”concubines,” currently attending to the Chief at the banquet.

Of course, in the Great Wilderness, even among concubines, there were ranks.

Those closest to the Great Chief noticeably dressed the most lavishly, with gold and jade ornaments shining brightly in their hair, extremely splendid.

They had skin as smooth as silk, and their appearances were exceptionally beautiful.

These beauties wore luxurious silk instead of animal pelts.

This indicated that the Royal Court of the Great Wilderness and some large tribes had previously had frequent exchanges and ”transactions” with the Taoist Court, Nine State, and some major forces.

And beneath the Chief’s main seat were several of the closest seats.

These seats were for his closest blood relatives.

Dan Zhu sat at one of them, in the fourth position.

The tribes in the Barbaric Wilderness placed great importance on seniority, so even if Dan Zhu was the most ”favored,” his position would not surpass that of his elder brothers.

And seated above Dan Zhu was a Golden Core Cultivator.

The person wore a Vermilion Bird barbaric robe, with sharp brows and a long face, his gaze keen and perceptive.

If Mo Hua guessed correctly, this person was Dan Zhu’s third brother, named ”Dan Bie,” which means ”the alert beast” in the barbaric language.

And above Dan Bie, two positions were vacant.

Evidently, Dan Zhu’s eldest brother and second sister did not attend this ”family banquet.”

Aside from this, there were other respectable seats on par with Dan Zhu and Dan Bie but further from the Great Chief’s main seat.

These were occupied by the elder generation with high prestige and authority or by the young and powerful influential elders from within the Danque Tribe.

Further down, the seating arranged according to the closeness of bloodline and hierarchy, elder’s status, and power.

As an ”honored guest” invited by Dan Zhu, Mo Hua’s seating was not low, positioned only two or three seats below Dan Zhu.

But the problem was, this was a ”family banquet.”

Despite its grand scale and the attendance of some elders and youths with ”kin” relationships, the number of attendees was not many.

The greater issue was that almost all the guests were Golden Core.

Mixing in as a stranger at Foundation Establishment, Mo Hua stood out conspicuously as ”odd” and ”out of place.”

Initially, no one paid much attention.

After all, Mo Hua had been brought in by Dan Zhu.

But as the banquet continued, this group from the Danque Tribe, among the highest bloodline, conversed over matters of their tribe and relatively private family affairs while eating and drinking.

Mo Hua’s presence became awkward.

There were continuous glances cast towards Mo Hua.

Mo Hua, however, appeared oblivious, continuing to eat on his own.

After a while, some couldn’t watch any longer.

At the high seat, Dan Bie, the third son of the Danque Tribe Chief, turned to Dan Zhu, sighed, and said:

”Fourth Brother, this is a family banquet. Why did you bring an outsider in?”

His tone held no blame, merely a touch of helplessness.

Dan Zhu replied, ”This is... a friend I’ve recently made.”

Dan Bie gave him a look, ”Friend? A Foundation Establishment?”

Dan Bie didn’t use the two words ”Foundation Establishment,” he spoke in the barbaric language, but Mo Hua still understood.

The inheritance of the Taoist Court and the Great Wilderness in Tao Cultivation shared close lineage, with major realms similar; just the terms differed at times.

After all, the barbaric language and the Taoist Court’s wording couldn’t be the same.

Later, the Taoist Court ”reformed,” promoting the use of the Taoist Court’s script.

The term ”Foundation Establishment” became universally understood even in the Great Wilderness.

Only those born to major tribes of the Great Wilderness, with high status, occasionally used ancient barbaric language to express cultivation realms, to appear distinctive.

Dan Zhu said, ”He is not an ordinary Foundation Establishment.”

Dan Bie shook his head, ”Foundation Establishment is Foundation Establishment. Without reaching Golden Core, what’s ordinary or not?”

Dan Bie bypassed Dan Zhu and directly looked at Mo Hua, asking:

”Young man, who are you? What is your name?”

Mo Hua, with a solemn expression, slowly said, ”I am here by the will of the Divine Lord, coming to this world without a name, but people respectfully call me... Mr. Witch.”

With these words, the hall fell silent for a moment.

Dan Bie’s gaze became more serious as he asked, ”You... are a shaman?”

Mo Hua nodded and said, ”Indeed.”

Dan Bie immediately sneered, ”How old are you? You can be a shaman? And why are you only Foundation Establishment?”

Mo Hua was displeased inwardly, grumbling in his heart:

You think I don’t want Core Formation?

If I had formed my core, would I still allow you to babble in front of me?

But outwardly, Mo Hua maintained a pious and dignified expression:

”I am the shaman of the Divine Lord, and all my power is a gift from the Divine Lord.”

”As long as the faith is devout, one possesses divine power capable of reaching the heavens. As for whether one’s cultivation is Foundation Establishment or Core Formation, it makes little difference...”

”In the face of the Divine Lord’s boundless divine power, life and death are but a thought away, with no distinction of high or low, noble or humble. All beings, even flesh and blood, are ultimately equal...”