Hearing the unfamiliar and long-unheard address of “Martial Aunt,” which confirmed her guess, Bai Qingcheng grew even more shocked. She had never imagined that it really would be Mo Hua.
According to the rumors from the old matriarch, the wild man Zixi had picked up was actually Mo Hua.
Bai Qingcheng gradually drew in the killing intent that surrounded her. She examined the youth’s features again, and sighed inwardly.
It was indeed that child, Mo Hua… though many years had passed, he was somewhat different from the image in her memory. He had grown taller, his figure more slender, his face more matured. The little formation master with rosy lips and white teeth had become a young man with brows clear as the moon and an extraordinary, immortal-like bearing; the older he grew, the more brilliant he became.
But precisely because of this, it was even worse. Bai Qingcheng frowned, her heart sinking. These two children, Mo Hua and Zixi, had grown up as close as could be, with innocent affections budding between them as junior and senior martial siblings training and adventuring together.
But back then, they had been young, love barely blossoming, and they had known some restraint. Now, one was so handsome, the other so beautiful, staying day and night together in a scenic little blessed land; past affections were like wild grass, ready to flare up with a single spring breeze.
Love affairs like this were all too easy to lead one astray. These two children were truly worrisome.
As her thoughts churned, Bai Qingcheng’s brow grew tighter and tighter.
When Mo Hua realized that the True Person before him was his little senior martial sister’s mother as well as his own Martial Aunt, he immediately became docile, lowering his brows and eyes, and quietly withdrew the killing intent that had been condensed into a sword in his gaze.
For some reason, Bai Qingcheng became even more wary, her brow twitching again. She carefully studied Mo Hua’s “obedient” appearance. After a moment, she suddenly said with some surprise, “You... formed your Golden Core?”
Mo Hua nodded. “Yes, Martial Aunt, I’ve formed my Golden Core.”
“Training so fast...” Bai Qingcheng frowned in confusion. Others might not know, but she was Mo Hua’s Martial Aunt, how could she not know his background?
This child came from a rogue cultivator origin, and his spirit root wasn’t even that good. Under normal cultivation speed, he might never even touch the threshold of Golden Core in his entire lifetime.
Besides, when she had seen him last, he was only at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, not even reaching Foundation Establishment. Yet in only one or two decades, he had managed to form a Golden Core. Even the mainline disciples of great families and major sects were no better than this.
Great families, great sects... Bai Qingcheng thought for a moment, then her mind stirred. “Did Senior Brother Zhuang leave you a way forward in your cultivation back then?”
Mo Hua’s gaze was complicated. He nodded and said quietly, “Yes, Master... left me a Sect Entry Token, telling me to go to Qianzhou to study.”
A Sect Entry Token. Bai Qingcheng fell silent, sighing in her heart. Senior Brother Zhuang truly had done everything for his smallest disciple; compared with his previous disciples, this could only be called “special favor.”
But Bai Qingcheng knew nothing about Mo Hua’s schooling. As a Feather Transformation True Person of the Bai family, she sat high above, preoccupied with great matters, and often had to go into seclusion, so she normally had no free time.
Even her own children were often neglected, let alone Mo Hua. She certainly wouldn’t care about trivial matters in unrelated Qianzhou, such as a few Foundation Establishment disciples enrolling and sword competitions.
So Bai Qingcheng asked, “Which sect did you enter?”
“The Taixu Sect,” Mo Hua said.
Bai Qingcheng was startled. “Not the Qiandao Sect?”
Mo Hua was also a little surprised that Martial Aunt Bai seemed to know about Qiandao Sect’s affairs. He answered honestly, “The Qiandao Sect wouldn’t take me.”
Bai Qingcheng’s expression changed slightly. After a moment of thought, she gradually understood. It must be that the upper echelons of the Qiandao Sect, seeing that Mo Hua had a poor spirit root and poor aptitude, and no one to support him, had found an excuse to reject him and shut the door in his face.
At this, Bai Qingcheng’s expression turned cold, and she swore: “Those petty rats of the Qiandao Sect, looking down on people with dog’s eyes, even daring to violate their ancestor’s instructions. No wonder they’ve decayed more and more.”
Mo Hua nodded, thinking it made sense.
“But...” Bai Qingcheng frowned again. “How did you end up at the Taixu Sect?”
Why, of all sects, did it have to be the Taixu Sect? And with Mo Hua’s spirit root and aptitude, he wasn’t even qualified for the Taixu Sect...
Mo Hua answered truthfully, “By a series of fortunate coincidences, I saved a child of the Shangguan family, got to know the child’s mother, and then... under that favor, I pulled some strings, took the back door, and got into the Taixu Sect.”
Bai Qingcheng’s expression turned subtle. For a moment, she didn’t know whether Mo Hua simply had good character or strong luck. Events around this child were always bizarre.
Bai Qingcheng then stared at Mo Hua again. Her gaze changed, and her face darkened. “Your Golden Core... is lower grade?”
Mo Hua nodded. “Yes.”
That wasn’t something shameful; everyone already knew.
Unexpectedly, Bai Qingcheng frowned. “Isn’t your spirit root upper-middle grade? How did your Golden Core end up lower grade?”
Mo Hua sighed helplessly. “It’s a long story.”
Bai Qingcheng said, “Did the Taixu Sect mistreat you?”
“No,” Mo Hua said.
Bai Qingcheng laughed coldly. “The great Taixu Sect, after all, is a long-established teaching sect. How could they not teach their disciples a proper way to form cores? If a high-grade spirit root dropped a grade, that would be one thing. But you, child, only have a middle-low grade root. If it slips, it becomes low grade. How can that be reasonable? It must be that the Taixu Sect, seeing your poor aptitude, slighted you and didn’t teach you properly...”
Seeing his Martial Aunt defend him so strongly, Mo Hua was moved, but it truly wasn’t like that. “Martial Aunt, it really wasn’t.”
Bai Qingcheng didn’t believe it, and asked again: “Then what is your magic treasure?”
Mo Hua hesitated, not willing to mention the heretical banned treasure he had obtained from the Great Wilderness’s High Shaman, a second-grade, twenty-four-pattern forbidden array called “Twelve Meridians Extremity-Severing Spirit Drain Array.”
Seeing Mo Hua’s awkward expression, Bai Qingcheng immediately understood. The magic treasure was too poor to mention. It must be that the Taixu Sect hadn’t prepared a proper treasure matrix for him, hadn’t let him nurture it carefully, and had let him muddle through into forming his core in a hurry.
That was why Mo Hua’s cultivation had progressed so fast; with no solid foundation, no steady nurturing, all of it was yanking up the sprouts to help them grow.
Bai Qingcheng’s eyes turned icy. “Fine Taixu Sect! Takes you as a disciple but doesn’t teach you properly. Such forced cultivation education, letting you form a lower-grade Golden Core, ruining my little martial nephew like this.”
Mo Hua said helplessly, “Martial Aunt, it really isn’t like that. The Taixu Sect’s patriarch, sect master, elders, and disciples all treat me very well.”
Hearing this, Bai Qingcheng was first stunned, then her heart softened a bit. This child Mo Hua, if nothing else, he was too kind-hearted, never growing up. So many years had passed, and he was still like this.
The Taixu Sect was so sinister, and he was still speaking well of it. He couldn’t even lie. As an ordinary disciple, how could the patriarch and sect master be good to him? The status gap was too great—one was in heaven, the other underground.
Bai Qingcheng shook her head. “Child... don’t always think the best of people. There are too many people in this world full of scheming and a belly of bad water. One day you might run into one.”
“This...” Mo Hua didn’t know what to say.
Bai Qingcheng pondered for a moment, then another doubt arose in her mind.
“Since you’re a Taixu Sect disciple, why didn’t you stay in Qianzhou to cultivate? Why did you suddenly come to Kunzhou?”
And he had run into Zixi again—that was the real trouble.
Mo Hua was silent for a moment, then answered by explaining that he had earlier left the Qianzhou realm, gone to the Great Wilderness to train, seeking an opportunity to form his Golden Core.
The Great Wilderness... Bai Qingcheng’s mind grew uneasy. There, the only thing she feared was that dreadful “Great Senior Brother.”
If Mo Hua ran into the Great Senior Brother again, with old grudges and scores to settle, she didn’t know how he would be tormented; dying might be a luxury. Yet Mo Hua hadn’t died; he was still alive.
Back in Lizhou City, the one who had taken Mo Hua away, killed Senior Brother Zhuang, and slaughtered several Feather Transformation cultivators of both orthodox and demonic paths had only been one clone of the Great Senior Brother.
But the Great Wilderness was a different matter. What dwelled there was the Great Senior Brother’s true body. A true Daoist, a heaven-reaching quasi-Dao demonic eminence.
Even a Hollow Void Old Ancestor of the Dao Court, once deep within it, would be uncertain of life or death. If Mo Hua had truly fallen into the Great Senior Brother’s hands, even if he grew three heads and six arms, or even underwent Feather Transformation on the spot and grew nine tails, he would never escape.
Bai Qingcheng shook her head, and only then let out a breath.
Seeing that Martial Aunt Bai had softened somewhat and no longer seemed intent on killing him, Mo Hua also breathed a sigh of relief. He had to admit, in front of his Martial Aunt, he felt enormous pressure.
Mo Hua then asked, slightly puzzled, “Martial Aunt... why did you suddenly come to Houtu City?”
Bai Qingcheng gave Mo Hua a glance, and silently thought, I came to catch you, little man.
But she couldn’t say that. If it were any other “little man” with Mo Hua’s looks, she would have slapped him to death already. But Mo Hua was different, after all. He was Senior Brother Zhuang’s most beloved little disciple, and was also her own little martial nephew. How could she lay a hand on him?
Bai Qingcheng sighed. “I have some matters to take care of in Kunzhou...”
“Oh.” Mo Hua nodded, not asking what specifically.
But one thing weighed heavily on Mo Hua’s heart. He held back and held back, but ultimately couldn’t hold it in. He looked up at Bai Qingcheng, lowered his gaze, and asked quietly, “Martial Aunt, Master... how is he?”
Bai Qingcheng’s gaze flashed, and she turned to look at Mo Hua. Seeing his despondent expression, his clear eyes containing extremely complicated emotions, thousands of threads of sorrow converging into a deep pool, showing how deep his obsession was, Bai Qingcheng’s nose inexplicably pricked.
Mo Hua was Senior Brother Zhuang’s dearest disciple. And wasn’t Senior Brother Zhuang also the person whom Mo Hua loved and respected most? Bai Qingcheng sighed deeply, her tone softening. “Your master... he’s still all right.”
Mo Hua was silent.
Bai Qingcheng looked at Mo Hua with some pity in her eyes. After thinking a moment, she waved her hand, using Feather Transformation spiritual power to form a barrier over the room, temporarily sealing sound and karma.
Then she sighed softly, “Back then you were small, and I didn’t tell you some things...”
“Your master... that Daoist split open his chest and took away his Dao Bone. His qi sea withered, his sea of consciousness shattered. No elixir or stone could heal him, no human power could save him.”
“It was Xuanji Valley’s Grand Elder, Master Situ, who used Xuanji Valley’s supreme treasure, the Qiankun Qingguang Mirror, as the array eye, and laid down the Mystic Fire Everlasting Array to lock his karma.”
“Life and death in this world are all karma. Life is the cause, death is the effect.”
“Senior Brother Zhuang’s lifespan had already ended. Thus, he could only forcibly use the Everlasting Array to lock life and death and prevent karma from turning.”
“When the cause no longer turns, the effect of death will not arrive for the time being.”
“Senior Brother Zhuang is currently in this state.”
Mo Hua’s chest was sour and astringent. It was the first time in all these years that he had so clearly learned the circumstances of his master’s life, death, and karma. It was also the first time he had confirmed his master’s condition. Yet...
Mo Hua’s voice was hoarse. “The Qiankun Qingguang Mirror... will burn out, won’t it? How much longer can the Mystic Fire Everlasting Array hold on?”
Bai Qingcheng looked at him and said quietly, “The Qiankun Qingguang Mirror is said to be Xuanji Valley’s greatest treasure, but it was never meant to sustain a life. Forcibly using it to keep someone alive wears it down bit by bit, until it ultimately breaks completely. And the Mystic Fire Everlasting Array uses the Qiankun Qingguang Mirror as its eye; once the eye is destroyed, the life-sustaining array... will have nothing left to hold.”
Bai Qingcheng sighed, her expression mournful. Over the years, she had been rushed off her feet over this matter.
On one hand, she needed to find a precious Heavenly Mechanism treasure to replace the Qiankun Qingguang Mirror and return it to Elder Situ of Xuanji Valley, to repay that debt of gratitude from years ago. On the other hand, she needed to find some karma artifacts or ancient techniques to continue the Mystic Fire Everlasting Array. Otherwise, once the Qingguang Mirror went out, the Everlasting Array would stop, the locked karma would return to its position, and even for a single instant, Senior Brother Zhuang would be beyond all help.
At the thought of this, Bai Qingcheng’s heart turned bitter. Mo Hua’s eyes were slightly red, and he couldn’t help asking, “Martial Aunt, is there... anything I can do to help?”
Bai Qingcheng looked at Mo Hua, a little more tenderness in her gaze, but she still shook her head. “You can’t help...”
Mo Hua thought about it, then said, “Martial Aunt, I’ve also been studying Heavenly Mechanism. I’m actually quite accomplished in karma.”
Bai Qingcheng was stunned, then gave a helpless bitter smile. This child... hearing others talk about Heavenly Mechanism and karma, those were not things someone at his realm could comprehend.
Even many Feather Transformation cultivators, even Cave Void Old Ancestors, couldn’t fully grasp them; a single misstep could bring great disaster. With the limited cultivation of a Golden Core, what he could touch didn’t even count as the fur on the skin.
Bai Qingcheng didn’t want to hurt Mo Hua, so she said tactfully, “Cultivate well.”
Mo Hua insisted, “Martial Aunt, I...”
Bai Qingcheng shook her head again, this time with a much firmer attitude, and even her gaze turned somewhat cold. “You don’t understand. The karma of this matter is enormous, and... it’s too dangerous.”
Mo Hua said, “I know it’s very dangerous.”
Bai Qingcheng’s gaze grew deep. “Your cultivation hasn’t reached the point where you can see how deep the vortex behind this matter truly is.”